Look To Your Heart
by dh1031
Summary: A retelling of the story starting from the beginning of Season 6, what if Clark had followed through on his feelings?
1. Preface

I have been amazed by the wonderful writers that post their fan fics here

I have been amazed by the wonderful writers that post their fan fics here!! Thank you to everyone who takes their time and energy to write stories, and post them here for us all to enjoy!! I've always enjoyed writing, but do not pretend to group myself with having the gift of prose that others have here.

So, with that I submit a Clark/Chloe story that I've had in my head for a while. I've finally gotten a chance to use my vacation time from work, and I am getting this story put down to paper.

I welcome any and all comments/suggestions/critiques. As Ben Franklin said, "Our critics are our friends - they show us our faults." So, depending on what you all think (that is if the story merits being continued), I will post more.

Well it is late and I am ready to turn in, so enjoy the first part of **Look To Your Heart**, and again I look forward to everyone's feedback!!

_**Look To Your Heart**_

**Pairings:** Clark and Chloe (who else? ) though, it will  
take just a little bit, so bear with me! Of course there will be  
interactions with other characters, but the romantic build will be  
between Clark and Chloe.

**Rating:** (**K+**) No higher than **PG-13** (basically nothing more than what's appeared on Smallville will be depicted here). Moderators, please let me know if there is anything here than merits this story being moved, and feel free to make any changes you deem necessary.

**Beta Reader**: 13ReporterGirl13 (/u/1504857/) – Thanks a million!!

**Summary:** Events take place at the beginning of the sixth season. Changes have been made so as to have events unfold as I wanted them to. I do not own, nor do I claim to own, any of the characters described here.


	2. Part 1

Part 1

**Part 1**

"MY FATHER SENDS HIS REGARDS!!"

Clark confidently said these words as he withdrew his hand from his handshake with Lex, who was now inhabited by a kryptonian war tyrant, known as Zod. Although Zod had been defeated on Krypton and banished to the Phantom Zone with his corporeal body destroyed, the brain inter-active construct known as Milton Fine on Earth had served as a means to release Zod's essence into Lex Luthor.

Now, thanks to Raya, the crystal that once belonged to Jor-El was driving the phantom remnant of Zod from Lex and trapping it within the crystal, Zod looked down at his hand and exclaimed, "NO!!, JOR-EL!!" Clark watched in stunned disbelief as his old friend screamed in agony as the phantom of Zod was forced from Lex's body in what Clark could only relate to as an epileptic seizure gone awry. At last the spasms ceased as Lex's body fell unconscious to the field they were standing in. Jor-El's crystal momentarily turned black from absorbing Zod's phantom remains then fell from Lex's hand. There was a scar seared onto Lex's hand where Jor-El's crystal had been, the scar matched the symbol marking the house of El – though the scar quickly faded away.

Clark sped to Lex to find his vitals in good condition. Clark and Lex (Zod) had traveled a long way from Smallville during their battle, and all Clark could think of was how having the abilities of a kryptonian had adversely affected his father. Not knowing what side effects or other health conditions Lex may incur from having had these abilities, Clark sped off to the Smallville Medical Center (SMC) as quickly as his legs could carry him.

Having arrived at the SMC, Clark was met with a myriad of chaos and anarchy as patients, doctors, and nurses were everywhere. Clark, ever in a hurry, yelled that he needed help and was met by a couple of nurses and a doctor running up to him. Of course, it being Smallville, everyone recognized the patient Clark carried in and immediately began checking Lex over – to Clark's relief - this provided the opportunity he needed to leave the SMC quickly without having to come up with a story as to how he had found Lex and what had caused the condition he was in.

Clark's next concern was his Mom, even though he had stopped rafters and other parts of the barn from crushing her and Lionel upon his return from the Phantom Zone, he still worried about her getting hurt on the farm. Also, he did not like the idea of her being alone with Lionel Luthor – Clark remembered his Dad warning him that Lionel knew his secret and that he needed to protect his Mom from him. Yet at the same time it was Lionel who had kept tabs on Lex and his interactions with Milton Fine. Plus it was Lionel that Jor-El has been using as an oracle to at least try to help. Clark could not help but think as he arrived back at the farm, "Why is it everything always has to be so complicated?" However, all of that went out of his mind when he entered the barn to find his Mom safe and sound, already busy with clean up.

With a lull in the storm that had been "Hurricane Zod", Clark ran up and embraced his Mom, tears running down both their faces. Martha was thrilled to have her son safely back home and quietly said a "Thank You!" looking up to Heaven where she knew Jonathan was watching over their son. After pulling away from their embrace, Martha asked,

"What happened?"

To which Clark did not have all the answers, but explained how he had used the dagger originally given to him by Jor-El to kill Lex to kill Milton Fine (at least Clark hoped that's what happened), and the result of that action releasing Zod into Lex. He went on to describe his brief skirmish with Zod and how that left him trapped in the Phantom Zone.

He also explained how Raya, a lab assistant that worked for Jor-El. had found him, and apparently been killed while helping him escape the Phantom Zone. Then Clark pulled out the crystal that Raya had given him, now back to its normal translucent state except for the symbol of the house of El itself being a medium blue. Clark held tight to the crystal as he thought about how he had failed to save Raya from being attacked, and get her out of the Phantom Zone. Martha could tell from the expression on Clark's face that he was beating himself up, and she patted his arm telling him it was not his fault.

Martha reminded Clark,

"No one – even someone with all the abilities you have cannot save everyone,"

Martha looked pointedly at Clark and continued,

"You did the best you could in the situation you were in, and Raya did not die in vain because she gave her life to save yours – and you made it back here to save all of us. Clark, I don't think I've ever been more proud of you than I am right now, and I know your Dad is very proud of you too."

Martha was right and even with all of his abilities; his greatest strength had always been his parents. Although Clark had been brought up with the understanding that men are not to cry, he could not help a tear running down his face at his Mom's words of comfort to him – especially with the thought and knowledge that his Dad would be just as proud of him. Barely able to speak, Clark said

"Thank You!"

He embraced his mom in a hug of appreciation – all the while another tear managed to work its way down Clark's face.

After a moment they pulled apart and Clark said,

"With everything that has happened, why don't you go inside the house and get some rest, I'll get everything sorted out here."

Martha, knowing everything her son had been through asked quizzically,

"Are you sure?"

Clark gave his Mom his best reassuring grin and said,

"Yeah Mom, the rest will do you good, and getting everything back to normal in the barn will help me out too – it'll be good therapy."

Martha smiled at her son's concern and said,

"Okay, but you let me know if you get hungry."

And as she walked back up into the house, Clark walked out far enough to gaze up into the sky. Just before Clark turned to go back into the barn, he looked up at the clear blue sky and this time he caught the sight of a Meadowlark flying down to land in a tree just off of the southwest corner of the barn, Clark smiled and said quietly to himself,

"Thanks Dad."


	3. Part 2

Part 2

**Part 2**

Chloe worked feverously at the Daily Planet, still trying to get things organized around her desk from the events caused by Zod. The media pundants had already coined the name of the events, "Dark Thursday". Chloe chuckled to herself thinking, "If only they really knew what was behind all these events." Chloe was exhausted but had to stay busy to keep from worrying about Clark, who had been gone for what seemed like an eternity.

As Chloe gathered up the last of the documentation Lionel left with her containing all the kryptonian scripts he had written, Chloe found her thoughts uncontrollably wondering to the events leading up to Clark's departure from the Daily Planet. Chloe and Clark had always been the best of friends, and at times there were awkward moments between them where the veil of friendship started to fade away and reveal the naked truth.

Yet they both always chalked these moments up to extreme conditions, and laughed them away as happenstance. Besides, Clark had always had eyes for a certain raven haired girl with the initials L.L. whom, Chloe had grown to have a good friendship with, and had come to think of as a sister over the years. This, beyond anything else, kept Chloe from being mad at Clark for not ever acknowledging their mutual, though always dismissed, feelings for one another. It was an unusual situation to be sure, even without counting into the mix that Clark was out of this world, literally.

However, circumstances had changed between Lana and Clark over the last few months, their tension had culminated into a meltdown of the relationship Clark had sought for so long. Plus, the fact that Lana was finding comfort with Lex - who Clark was also having a hard time trusting now - further cemented the end of his and Lana's relationship, along with any possibility of reconciliation.

Through all of this Chloe had done her best to comfort Clark, and lend him an ear whenever he felt like talking. Chloe knew that this was hitting him hard considering what he had told her about having to go back in time to save Lana from being killed in a car wreck - which the price for doing so was his father's life being taken instead. Still, Chloe was thankful to see Clark had finally come to terms with his father's passing (which had taken a toll on her as well because the Kents had always treated her like family, especially after learning that she knew Clark's secret).

Chloe smiled faintly as she recalled Martha's words to her shortly after Jonathan's passing "..I am so thankful you are part of Clark's life and are able to share Clark's secret. Jonathan would always know what to say in situations like this." Chloe did her best to help Martha all she could and recalled being able to bring, all-be-it subtle, a smile to Martha by saying, "Jonathan will always be with us, and he will always be here helping Clark along the way, we just have to remember to slow down enough to listen." Chloe could shake the need to be a pillar of strength for the Kents now, more than ever, with the un-announced visitors from Clark's home world causing havoc. She was grateful for Clark being able to put everything aside and focus on the task at hand.

Chloe remembered pushing Clark to do something she knew he could not stand, killing. She remembered telling Clark that maybe the only way all this could be stopped would be to kill the intended vessel for Zod. Chloe worried about Clark because he did not answer her, in typical Clark-like fashion he worried about leaving her there at the Planet with all that was going on because of the virus Milton Fine had released.

Chloe resolved herself at the look of love and concern she saw in Clark's eyes at that moment as she told him she would be fine and to go. Although this tore her to pieces, Chloe knew that Zod had to be stopped - no matter what, but as Clark was walking out Chloe's heart won out against her resolve.

Chloe ran after Clark, yelling to him as she did (coming up with a lame excuse, at least in her opinion to act as a defense mechanism for her feelings) saying, "I don't know if I'll ever see you again." Then she pulled Clark down towards her to kiss him goodbye, and was somewhat surprised to feel Clark pulling her up into him as their lips met.

Chloe lost all track of thought in that moment as they kissed each other with a tenderness that expressed the unspoken feelings she knew they both had for one another. Chloe felt the safest she ever had as Clark locked his arms around her in a loving embrace. She found her hands meandering through Clark's ample head of hair. Chloe felt as though she were in heaven when, to her surprise, she realized Clark was deepening the kiss!!

Chloe suddenly felt her senses return and knew Clark had to stop Zod, so she reluctantly pulled herself away from Clark. Although Chloe had pushed away, Clark kept his arms locked around Chloe, as they both stared at each other in an ecstasy of silence. The same sound that snapped them out of their trance brought Chloe out of her thoughts, a phone ringing. A phone on the desk just across from her went off a few times before switching to its voice mail system. Embarrassed by not knowing how long she had been standing there gazing up at where there had once been a wonderful stained glass window, now replaced with a sheet of plywood to temporarily cover the hole from a car crashing through. Chloe found herself chuckling, no matter where her relationship with Clark stood, things were never dull.

Clark busily worked finishing up clearing the last of the debris from the barn. He breathed a sigh of a relief as he finished setting the last of his things back into place, noting that Shelby was still lying in his usual place despite all the craziness. Not that it took a lot of effort or time for him to get everything in order, but he did feel a little out of kilter with having what his Dad referred to as his "fortress of solitude" in ruin. Clark walked over to Shelby and patted the faithful dog on his head, prompting the dog to wag his tail.

"Well Shelby, the easy part is done, now what do I do about the hard part?"

Shelby responded by tilting his head, releasing a whine, and looking quizzically at Clark. After a moment, Shelby finally barked at Clark, went back to grinning as he lightly panted, and wagged his tail. Clark laughed, happy at how his dog could lighten what was a serious matter weighing on his mind, and replied to Shelby (in the best snarky tone he could manage),

"Well thanks a lot pal!"

To which Shelby simply continued waging his tail, and keeping the grin on his face, resumed his passive gaze across the farm.

Well, at least for some on the Kent farm, things were simple and straight forward. However, for Clark things were not so simple now, and he wasn't sure what to do. Ever since he had defeated Zod and had safely left Lex at SMC to be cared for, his thoughts had drifted to Chloe. More specifically, his thoughts had remained locked on their lip lock in the Daily Planet before he took out to face Zod.

Things had been rough for him for a while, especially with his Dad passing away, but Clark had finally come to terms with this major change in his life - in large part due to Chloe's help. Also, the girl he always pictured being married to for the rest of his life had made a 180, in his eyes, which left him disturbed.

Frustrated, tired, and yes even angry with this turn of events Clark and Lana had finally called it quits - though Clark still found it ironic that Lana would wind up turning to Lex for support. However, given Lana's apparent ambition to take on life, he laughed to himself as he said out loud, "a match NOT made in heaven, but a match none the less." Plus seeing Lana and Lex together had cemented his decision to cut ties with Lana as much as anything else.

Now, this had been several months ago, and as with everything else in his life - he had shared this with Chloe. Yet, being that Chloe and Lana were like sisters, Chloe was already aware of most of the details when he spoke to her about this, and as with him grieving for his Dad - Chloe helped him get through getting over Lana and learning how to put this all behind him.

Yet, in all this time, even in all the unusually close situations he had found himself in with Chloe he never made a move because he was afraid she would think she was the "rebound girl" as he had heard it put. Clark shook his head, that did not add up - enough time had passed since his departure from Lana – and would not equate to Chloe being a "rebound relationship".

Clark fixed his gaze on the windmill that sat motionless at the entrance to the farm from his loft. Shelby had drifted off to sleep during the time Clark had spent pondering all this information. The more Clark tried to rationalize the lip-lock with Chloe as just being another one of those "highly emotional moments" they had experienced in the past, the more his heart kept yelling at him. Clark hated this, he had let his heart govern his decisions over the last year and things had not turned out so well. Still, Clark knew Chloe wasn't the one he was with and could not put the problems he had experienced on her - if anything she was always there for him throughout everything. Besides that, Clark had a feeling that the "we just got caught up in the moment" excuse would not wash away what had happened, it was not like times before where one or both of them were not themselves, they were both active participants. Strangely enough one of those conversations he had had with his Dad sprung to mind. It was a simple phrase that his Dad greeted him with every morning as Clark would make his way downstairs. Clark smiled as he remembered his Dad saying, "The cows aren't going to feed themselves son, you know what you've got to do, so do it!!"

This certainly wasn't a case of him needing to see to chores, but the principle remained the same - he had a task that needed to be resolved, and every journey begins with a single step. Clark knew what had to be done - he needed to talk to Chloe about this, and he needed to talk to her now!!

So, Clark cut out from the barn, seeming to run a little faster than he recalled having moved in the past on his familiar route to the Daily Planet. Unlike other times when he had gone to see Chloe, he found himself feeling extremely nervous. As he slowed back down to normal speed upon descending the last of the stairs to the basement offices, Clark noticed that his heart was running faster than usual.

Still, Clark kept on toward his goal, and it wasn't until he entered the office area and caught Chloe's gaze that he felt his eyes warming up as they did years ago that first time in biology class. At this point, he knew not only was his heart, but his entire physiology was screaming at him. As Chloe called out his name and ran towards him, he caught her in a bear hug and held her tightly - afraid to loose what he felt as a calm relief - Clark knew things between them would never be the same.


	4. Part 3

Part 3

**Part 3**

Chloe whispered into Clark's ear

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but a little air would be nice!!"

Clark immediately loosened his grip (with a sheepish looking blush taking over his face) so Chloe could take a step back, but still kept his arms around her. As Chloe stepped back, she winced a little in pain causing Clark to immediate x-ray her for broken bones, although finding none he still asked,

"What happened, are you okay?"

Chloe shifted weight away from her sore leg as she answered Clark saying,

"Yeah, I'm great now that you're here!!"

And pulled Clark back into a hug to try to reassure him that she was okay. Chloe smiled as she rested her chin on Clark's shoulder. It did not matter how many times she got to hug him, she always felt a sense of peace and safety that even she, Chloe Sullivan – world class reporter, could not put into words. At the same time, Chloe's memory drifted to the last time she was in Clark's arms in the Planet's basement offices. She knew she had taken a big risk by running up to him to kiss him goodbye. Even now, Chloe could feel her mind start to reel as what she figured to be a sweet 'goodbye-take-care-of-yourself' kiss had turned into a passionate lip-lock that betrayed all the insistent and resolved comments they both had made that they were "just friends".

Yet Chloe was pulled back from these thoughts as she felt the tension and worry in Clark rise from her silence. So, Chloe gently moved back so she could look him squarely in the eye as she spoke,

"Hey, I'm fine; I just twisted my ankle during all the craziness that Milton Fine's virus caused earlier."

Chloe continued, with her usual snarky tone back in her voice,

"You know; as much as you complain about not being normal, let me tell you that you are lucky to not have to worry about things like sprained ankles!"

Clark could not help grinning as he laughed lightly, Chloe always could find a way to bring humor into every situation. Then Clark saw Chloe's gaze turn serious as she asked,

"What about you, are you okay, where did you go? What happened?"

Clark knew Chloe needed to know everything that had happened, that was the reporter in her, and that persistence was just one of the things he realized he loved about her – he just had to figure out how to tell her.

As Clark started to respond, an unknown voice interrupted him (well, unknown to Clark anyway) saying,

"Hey bright eyes!"

Chloe turned with a start saying,

"Oh, hi Jimmy."

As she pulled back out of Clark's arms (noticing this took much more effort than normal) she continued,

"Jimmy Olsen, this is Clark Kent, Clark Kent, meet Jimmy Olsen, I worked with him a few years ago during my summer internship here at the Planet."

Clark was half listening to Chloe and half irritated to have her out of his arms as he politely extended his hand out to Jimmy.

"Whoa, they growing them big in Kansas, don't they!?"

Jimmy exclaimed as he shook Clark's hand. Jimmy continued,

"I ran into Chloe as I was making my way up from the scanning room, and she nearly killed me!"

Clark worked hard and succeeded in repressing a grin at the thought of Chloe killing anybody. Chloe quickly interrupted explaining,

"Lionel had given me a gun to protect myself from the looters, and all I could tell from where I was working under a desk was that someone had come into the office. I hollered out asking if anyone was there, but there was no answer so I fired a warning shot."

Jimmy laughed,

"Yeah a warning shot that hit a light fixture which nearly took my head off!"

Chloe snarked back in defense (although this time there was more of an accusatory tone in her voice than her usual humorous tone that she used for snarky remarks),

"Maybe so but I had to push you out of the way of a falling book case which, by the way, resulted in me twisting my ankle!"

Clark felt a twinge of anger at hearing this bit of information, but let it go as he again remembered the words of his Dad, "Son, I know all there is about loosing your temper, but you cannot afford to do that. You always have to be strong and be the better for it."

Jimmy sheepishly scratched the back of his neck at Chloe's retort and weakly said,

"Yeah sorry about that. Look, uh Chloe, I was wondering if you wanted to go grab some dinner down at the vending machines. CK, you are welcomed to tag along as well."

Chloe looked to Clark and as she started to reply to Jimmy's inquiry, Clark interrupted,

"Actually Jimmy, Chloe and I have plans for tonight. In fact, Chloe, we need to get going otherwise we are going to be late."

Now Clark was terrified as he had planned on asking Chloe back to the farm so they could talk, but had been cut off before he had the chance. Clark now looked to Chloe, giving her an "I know I should have asked sooner, but please go along with this" look on his face. Now, there were very few occasions that Chloe found that she was speechless, and this was one of those times.

However, being speechless did not keep her mind from racing to find a quick resolution to the situation at hand. Chloe said a quick prayer of thanks as she turned to face Jimmy, finding the words to say,

"Oh that's right!! I'm sorry Jimmy, with the hectic goings on that we've had here this afternoon I forgot to tell you."

Jimmy smiled as he replied,

"Hey no big deal, it was going to be a quick stop off anyway. With everything that's been going on, I'm sure my inbox of things that need to be scanned into the Daily Planet's database is going to be overflowing by the time I get back to it. I hope y'all have a nice time this evening. Good night Chloe, see you CK."

Jimmy waved to them as he headed off towards the hall that led to the break room, leaving Chloe and Clark to be on their way. Chloe quickly turned to Clark with a mischievous grin on her face as she asked,

"So, when did we make plans for going out this evening? I mean, I know it has been really busy here lately, but I know I would have remembered Clark Kent asking me out."

Chloe couldn't resist tilting her head and eyeing him over as she often did to try to evoke a straight forward reply from, as she called him, 'the illusive Clark Kent'. Clark felt his face redden up again as he caught the familiar look Chloe was giving him.

"Well, uh, Chloe, I uh, that is, I was trying to answer your questions about what all had happened since I left you to find Zod."

Chloe widened her grin as she stepped closer to Clark and spoke,

"That's not what I asked you Clark, I asked when had you asked me to go out with you?"

Again Chloe eyed Clark with a mischievous look that she knew would make him nervous, but then again making Clark stumble over his words was the highlight of her day – plus a little levity seemed appropriate considering all of the grim events that had transpired as of late. Clark started to loose his train of thought completely as he was being captured by Chloe's eyes looking at him, in fact if he did not know better, Clark could have sworn that Chloe was using x-ray vision to look right through him.

Yet Clark managed to shake his brain back to action as he tried once more to say what he was thinking and feeling,

"Chloe, that's what I mean – that is to answer all your questions I was going to suggest we go back to the farm so I could explain everything. I mean, I know how much you love being at the Planet, but the office area isn't exactly the best place to discuss everything that has gone on, you know? Anyhow, I was doing my best to get to that when Jimmy walked up."

Chloe was surprised at how quickly Clark was finding his words now (then it hit her, 'earth to Chloe - alien from another planet with abilities I can only dream about' - being a little tongue tied would not take long to get past) and waited before saying anything to see if he would keep going – he did.

"Look Chloe, Jimmy seems like a nice guy, and I remember you talking about him after getting back from your summer internship at the Planet in the beginning of our sophomore year, but with everything that's been happening this year with Fine, the ship, the other kryptonians, and now Zod – I just…. I just thought you would be able to spare some time for me to fill you in. Plus, there's something else I want to discuss with you, and this isn't the place to do it. So, before some other natural disaster tries to interrupt us…"

(Clark smiled a little as he remembered being at a dance with Chloe years ago where that indeed did happen).

"Chloe, would you like to go out tonight?"

Clark took a deep breath and let out a sigh, uncertain of Chloe's response, but thankful to not have run over his words anymore than he had. It was still strange to him to have this feeling of being tongue tied around Chloe, who he had spent more time with than any girl he could think of off the top of his head. Chloe knew everything about him. Plus he had to blink his eyes every so often to fight off the tingling sensation he recognized as being the start of his heat vision trying to work, Clark just prayed that Chloe was not paying attention to that little fact.


	5. Part 4

Part 4

**Part 4**

Chloe kept the mischievous grin on her face, she felt as though she could soak up Clark stuttering over her all day. Still, Chloe's rye side was taking more of a hold than she expected – the words that sprung forth surprised even her, to some degree.

"Clark, do you realize how rude that is?? I mean it's late, you rush in here from God knows where, you don't even take the time to call first to see what is going on,"

(Chloe let go the fact that cell service would be questionable with Fine's virus having caused chaos),

"and to top it all off you put me into an awkward situation with my old boyfriend Jimmy!? Not to mention that your Mom called just a few minutes ago to let me know Lois just woke up in the hospital, and I haven't even had time to go over and check in on my own flesh-in-blood!!"

Okay, so the term "boyfriend" was not _**vrai**_ when it came to describing her past with Jimmy. The truth was that Jimmy was a guy that happened to be in the right place at a bad time. Chloe recalled her internship at the Daily Planet, and the disappointment she felt from Clark not keeping his word to visit her in what he so eloquently referred to as being her "natural habitat".

Jimmy had caught her on an off day when, for the umpteenth time, Clark had failed to meet her in Metropolis for a night out on the town. She finally gave into the many times Jimmy had asked her out, and well one thing led to another, which resulted in her making the biggest mistake of her life.

Chloe had always heard that a person's first time was supposed to be special, that you were supposed to be with someone you loved, and that in that moment of physical intimacy, all of your feelings for one another were supposed to bond you both together in a way that transcends all manner of description. Instead all Chloe had experienced was anxiety, awkwardness, and pain as she had let Jimmy talk her into loosing her virginity on their night out.

Chloe remembered waking the next morning feeling sick to her stomach, and even when she went to her reliable standby of coffee to feel better – all it made her do was throw up. Well, the feeling of nausea eventually passed and after spending an exorbitant amount of time in the shower cleaning up, she finally felt human again. After that, she told Jimmy in clairvoyant terms that there would be **NO** further dates between them, though Chloe did agree to meet him for coffee every now and then during the rest of her internship with the **strict** understanding that it was only as friends.

Besides that, Chloe remembered Clark's strange reaction upon starting their sophomore year when she had told him she had met, as she put it, '…this really hot guy in Metropolis that made her forget all about Smallville.' Now Chloe waited to see what Clark's reaction would be, after all Clark had put her through so much drama with 'Lana this' and 'Lana that' that she thought making Clark sweat it out for a bit would only be fair.

Clark was completely dumbfounded, jealous, and lost all at once. Considering Chloe's reaction to when he interrupted her response to Jimmy's inquiry about getting dinner, he figured that Chloe would have accepted his invite to spend some time together this evening. After all, it was not unusual for them to spend time together – in fact as he thought about it – they seemed to spend a great deal of time with each other everyday.

Even on the odd day that they did not get to see each other, they would make up for it by talking each other's ears off over the phone. Clark never could understand why they needed to talk so much over the phone; he had tried to explain to Chloe on several occasions that he could just super-speed to wherever she was in a matter of minutes – even after his profuse apologies for an earlier incident. However, this method of persuasion never went over well, as Chloe was always quick to point out the one occasion he'd apologized time and again for.

Chloe had called Clark from her dorm room to give him some information on the latest meteor infected victim they were looking into, Andrea, - who Chloe had given the name _**Angel of Vengeance**_. Well, at hearing the stress in Chloe's voice, Clark immediately sped over to Chloe's dorm, bursting in with such zeal that he ripped the door right off its hinges. Not only had the door suffered misfortune upon Clark's arrival, but several reports Chloe had laid out to put together in their respective binders went astray as if a hurricane had hit the place. Although these were embarrassing results of Clark's hastiness, they were not too bad as Clark was able to repair the door good as new. He not only had all of Chloe's reports sorted back out in a blink of an eye, but he also had them safely complied into their respective binders.

No, what really had set Chloe off (and Clark had a feeling he would remember that moment for as long as he lived) was that Chloe was, well (Clark blushed at the thought even now), as Chloe put it when she yelled at him, "Hello, not-ready-for-company!!" state when he had burst through the door. Now Clark recalled having used his x-ray vision to look into the girls' locker room back in high school, but that was an innocent mistake as he was still learning how to control his new found ability – though Chloe was not in there at that time.

No, the occasion that made him blush even more was the first time he had been exposed to red meteor rock, and had met Pete, Lana, and Chloe at the Talon for a study session. He recalled when Chloe and Lana had gotten up to fix everyone some drinks to put in all-nighter to prepare for their history exam the next day. Well, he was on red meteor rock for goodness sake, and he used his x-ray vision to give Chloe what he liked to call, "a thorough examination", informing Pete that Chloe had a birthmark on her cheek.

Clark laughed to himself as Pete, matter-of-factly, told him "no she doesn't" to which he had to clarify with a sly grin, _**"not that cheek"**_. Well, upon bursting into Chloe's dorm, x-ray vision was not necessary to see that what he told Pete was true. Evidently, Chloe had just gotten out of the shower and had called him once she got a fax confirming a theory about how Andrea had acquired their abilities. Then as he had burst in the room, Chloe was in the process of tossing the towel she had wrapped around her to get dressed. No doubt about it, Chloe would never let him live that one down, so he always had to be sure to knock three times before entering her dorm.

"Hello?? Earth to Clark, is anyone home?? You're turning as red as a beat!! I know you're thinking hard to figure out a reply, but straining so hard that your face turns that red is not a good sign!!"

Clark snapped out of his current train of thought by Chloe's words and was faced again with his current predicament.

"Chloe…I…uh…that is I thought….I mean you just told Jimmy…it seemed to me…rather it appeared that you were…"

Clark was on the wrong track and decided to stop yammering for a moment to collect his thoughts, though this was no easy task with the most beautiful hazel eyes in the world staring him straight in the eye.

"Chloe, I didn't know Jimmy was your boyfriend, you never mentioned having a boyfriend before. In fact, I don't recall you mentioning Jimmy at all, and with all the times I came to you about the trouble I was having with Lana – I just figured you would have told me if you were having trouble with a boyfriend."

Well, that did it!! Of all the times Clark had stepped in it in the past, this time really took the cake!! Clark witnessed something he had never recalled seeing, Chloe's face changed from an expression that could be described as, "sometime today would be nice" to an expression that defied any adjective one could think of to illustrate anger.

Not only that, but Chloe's face changed color about a dozen different times as it settled on a deep crimson color that Clark worried would end up with her spewing steam from her ears!! Finally, the boiler that Clark witnessed building steam burst, and the force of it hit Clark full out.

"_**Clark, for someone with abilities that still defy my imagination, sometimes you are the most mindless, moronic, naïve, witless, unenlightened, oblivious, disregardful, inattentive, hung up, malapropos, inept being I have ever met!!"**_

With that Chloe stormed off from her desk towards the hallway. Clark thought about going after her to talk, but thought better of it, he had seen Chloe upset before – and even on those occasions one had to be real careful what was said around her. After the giant explosion that had just went off, Clark was clueless as to what he could say that would not illicit another burst of anger from her.

Not to mention that the people who were present in the Daily Planet basement had stopped what they were doing to stare at him upon hearing Chloe's diatribe. Clark put on his best "puppy dog" face and made his way out of the basement offices to the hallway, doing his best to not make direct with anyone for too long.

Upon making it to the hallway, Clark quickly ducked under the stairwell to try to collect his thoughts. "How in the world do I get myself into these debacles? I show up here to try to get some answers, and I wind up being the lamb to the slaughter!?" Clark couldn't help but shake his head at the irony of it all, a natural disaster had interrupted them again this time around, but the tornado he confronted years ago now seemed much less daunting!!

Clark smashed the palms of his hands against his head at this realization; it was remembering the tornado that did it – now he knew why Chloe had flown off the handle. Again Clark heard words of wisdom from his Dad, as clearly as if he were standing right beside him, "Son, sometimes we fail to see the forest for the trees, when this happens; you have to step back far enough to gauge what you are looking at." Suddenly Clark noticed a rumbling around him and concluded it was caused from him slamming his hands against his forehead too hard.

Sighing to himself Clark observed, "I've gotta stop doing that!" Clark sat down now under the stairwell, leaning his head back to think more on his Dad's words. He felt sure the answer to his quandary was to be found in them, but he still had to figure out what the answer was. Clark began going over possible conclusions to his thoughts, this time aloud, but only audible to his ears,

"Chloe….I….I mean I did not think about what I was saying…I was so caught up with what just happened with Zod that…I am so sorry…." The more Clark thought, the more one thing become more and more conspicuous was that he had to quit focusing on "I" when he spoke, and focus more on "her" and "we" – after all he was there to try to sort out where their relationship was and where it was going. Clark smiled as he realized that was what his Dad had meant by those words. He closed his eyes as he felt a tear escape and run down his cheek. He said another silent "thank you" to his Dad for helping him.

Clark got up with a new found resilience to set things straight between him and Chloe, and hoped to finally get to have that much needed talk with her. As he followed the hallway down he could hear the unmistakable sound of Chloe's laughter coming from the break room. Clark turned the corner to find a sight that made his heart sink (and caused his resilience to fade away at the same time), there was Chloe sitting across from Jimmy sharing a "fresh from the vending machine" dinner. Evidently they didn't notice him as they continued talking with one another, stopping only occasionally to take a bite of food or get a sip of coffee.

Clark did not know what to do; he was filled with a sudden rage that was prompting him to run over and through Jimmy across the room. Knowing that he could move fast enough without Jimmy seeing him Clark could then easily scoop up Chloe and run her back to Smallville. Clark knew Jimmy was not knowingly trying to cause any harm, but the jealously still raged in him. The rage, now yelling at him said, "okay then forget Jimmy altogether, you can move fast enough to just swoop in there and carry Chloe back to Smallville." Clark was sensing a pattern to his jealous rage – running – this was an idea he could get behind. However, after seeing how happy Chloe looked sitting there with Jimmy, Clark told his jealousy to "stuff it" – and decided to follow the running part of the plan as he ran back to Smallville.


	6. Part 5

Part 5

**Part 5**

She heard him, she knew he was there, she could always tell when he was near - her heart would always start racing before she could even feel him in the room, and this time was no different. However, she pushed aside the need crawling inside her to run to him, pull him into a hug, and apologize for blowing-up at him - she remained steadfast and did not acknowledge him. Chloe had lost count of the ups and downs she had experienced with Clark, and true, her curiosity about what had happened with Zod – and where he had been all this time - was running off the charts, but she knew that some principles had to be upheld over instinctual desire.

Plus, Chloe felt bad for having been so short in shutting down Jimmy earlier. Even though she had laid down the law to him that their relationship would remain firmly ensconced in a purely platonic state, Jimmy had been a good friend to her back during her summer internship. As they finished up their makeshift dinner, Chloe asked Jimmy if he had time to take her over to the SMC to see Lois. Chloe explained the phone call she had received from Martha Kent letting her know Lois had only recently woken up, and could now see visitors.

Although it had been years since Jimmy had spent time with Chloe, he recalled how she fondly talked about her cousin, Lois. Jimmy had never met Lois but from Chloe's description, she sounded like someone that charged the gate and to heck with the consequences. Jimmy couldn't help from laughing quietly as the thought sprung to mind that Lois was akin to a "Chloe without a GPS". Then Jimmy caught the questioning look Chloe was giving him as she waited for an answer, he could tell she was anxious to be on her way. Jimmy quickly wiped his face clean of expression and quipped,

"Sure Chloe, I'm sure the Daily Planet's archive room will survive without me for a while."

Truthfully, Jimmy was thankful for the chance to get away, for as much as he dreamed about getting to work at the Daily Planet – being relegated to feeding a scanner was not what he had in mind. Chloe quickly grabbed a refill of coffee and they were on their way.

Clark sat quietly in the family room of the Kent farm house, intently studying the back of his Dad's watch. On the back of the watch, though worn from time and everyday use, was the inscription his Mom had put there years ago. The sentiment was simple, but it conveyed all the thoughts and feelings that Clark knew his parents shared, he smiled as he read the inscription;

_**To JK,  
The love of  
my life.  
MK**_

Martha was startled to see her son sitting there in the family room as she too was deep in thought over the recent events. Martha quickly changed the expression on her face to the warm, loving smile that Clark knew so well, though now that he was older – even that kind smile did not seem to fix all that was wrong in the world for him as it once did. Martha spoke as she sat across from him on the sofa,

"I did not hear you get back, have you had anything to eat?"

Clark shook his head as he replied,

"No, I'm not really hungry. Mom, can I ask you a question?"

"Clark, you know you can always talk to me about whatever is bothering you."

Martha said, trying to alleviate some of the strain she saw cross Clark's face as he began to speak.

"How did you know Dad was the one? How did you know he felt the same as you did about him?"

Martha paused as she gathered her thoughts to answer him,

"I think when a person is at the age you are, nothing is as clear cut as what you want it to be. You hope the person you have feelings for cares for you as well, but there's no guarantee that I've ever heard of. I know things have been really hard on you lately Clark; your father passing away, you breaking-up with Lana to have her immediately turn to Lex, and then all this business with Zod and Professor Fine."

Clark took a deep breath as he leaned forward to respond,

"You know I keep going back in my mind lately, trying to figure out if I have been truthful with myself, or if I have been making up excuses about how I feel because I was afraid."

Martha turned her head thoughtfully as she replied,

"Clark, what you are asking of yourself is what everyone asks of themselves, which makes you as human as the rest of us."

Looking quizzically at that remark, Clark asked,

"What do you mean?"

Martha sat more upright as she said,

"Your Dad and I were almost not married."

Clark's eyebrows shot-up in shock at hearing this, and leaned further forward as his Mom continued.

"I broke off the whole thing after being engaged for about a year. We had a huge blow-out of a fight, and I fully expected to never see him after that. I mean, he was a farm boy and I was a city girl from Metropolis. Jonathan was expected to take on the mantle of this farm, while I was expected to go on to law school and become a lead attorney at my father's practice – eventually taking over his firm. To look at the two of us, it made no practical sense that we should even be considering getting married."

Clark hesitated as he asked, what he thought, was the obvious question,

"Then why did you marry him?"

Martha closed her eyes to hold back the tears she felt trying to escape as she said,

"Because I couldn't get him off of my mind."

Clark waited a moment, seeing the emotions running their gambit across his Mom's face, and then asked,

"What if I were to take a chance, just like you did, I mean; not proposing marriage (at least not yet, Clark thought to himself), but telling someone that has been close to me everything I have been feeling – only to find that she's happy with someone else?"

Martha considered her words carefully, she wished Jonathan were here to give Clark his thoughts too as she finally spoke,

"All I know is this, if I had not forced myself to face the risk before me – I would have missed out on having everything that I have held dear to my heart for all this time."

Clark could not help but smile at this, as Martha reached out and pulled Clark into a hug. After a moment, they pulled apart and Martha asked,

"So, are you going to tell me who this "someone" is that your mind is so preoccupied with?"

Clark blushed as he looked down at the floor to avoid his Mom's gaze,

"I will but I have to get it sorted out in my head how to settle things with her first. I know things haven't been easy on you Mom, and the last thing I want to do is have you concerned about someone else. I mean, I can still hear you crying yourself to sleep at night, and I know it's my fault – if I hadn't gone back to save Lana from that car wreck, Dad would still be with us."

Martha placed a hand on his shoulder as she spoke,

"Clark, I am sorry you heard me crying, but you cannot blame yourself for your father's death. He led a full life and I know that if he had the chance, he would not change a thing he's done. Having you here with us made your Dad's life more complete, and no one expects you to try to choose one life over another like that. Besides, you did not know that your Dad would wind up passing away as a result of the changes in the past."

Clark broke in, almost in tears,

"That's just it Mom – I DID know- well, I didn't know it would be Dad, but Jor-El warned me that life would find a balance – that someone I cared about would die."

Martha was quiet a moment as the tears that had been threatening finally ran down Clark's face.

"Clark, look at me, there are times in everyone's lives – not just people like you with special abilities – that have to make life and death choices everyday. For instance, an emergency room doctor has to prioritize patients coming in, and treat them as best they can. The doctor can spend the rest of their lives saying 'what if…' in regards to their actions, what if I had chosen a different patient to work on – would that patient have made it instead of passing away while the patient they worked on passed away in spite of the doctor's efforts. Clark, my crying is just the normal part of the grieving process, you being here to help me, God's love, and time will get me – and us through this."

Clark was in awe – with all his abilities, with all his strength at his command – the woman in front of him possessed a strength that he could not put into words. Clark smiled at his Mom as the tears continued steadily down his face. He pulled her into a hug saying,

"Thanks Mom, thanks for those words, and thanks for helping me realize that all this self-pity I've been wallowing in hasn't done anything but keep me from moving on in the grieving process. And most of all thanks for being the greatest of all my abilities – for being the guiding beacon during these times of turbulence. I love you Mom."

It was Martha's turn to let the tears run down her face as she embraced her son. She was so proud of him, even with everything going on – he had decided to try to take on the burden of everything that was happening – and it was tearing him apart more than he was letting on. Yet during this conversation about matters of the heart, somehow her words had allowed him to open up to her the pain that was consuming him – and thank God she had found the words to save him from the gloomy abyss he was falling into.

Martha's heart swelled at this realization and whispered a quiet "thank you" (quiet enough that not even Clark would hear it) as she looked up to the ceiling. Somehow she felt, at that moment, that Jonathan had been there with her, guiding her with what to say when she was apprehensive as to what course to take. At last Martha found her voice had returned to her as she said aloud,

"I love you too, son. I am so proud of you!! Never forget that your Dad is also proud of you, and that he will always be watching over us."

As they pulled away from the embrace, Clark had a smile of peace on his face, a smile his Mom had not seen in a long time. Drying the last of the tears that were on her face Martha asked,

"So, are you ready for me to fix you something for supper, it's getting late you know."

"Sure Mom, I'm so hungry now, I feel like I could eat three meals!!"

Clark beamed at his Mom as they both walked to the kitchen. Elsewhere, the drive from the Daily Planet to SMC passed quickly to Chloe. Her mind had been filling with all the questions she was going to ask Lois. Martha had not given her a lot of details about Lois, she was just on the line long enough to let her know they had made it back home safely, though Lois' injuries required a trip to the hospital.

Aside from Lana, Lois was the closest thing Chloe had to a sister – though Lois was decidedly more aggressive and not so quick on the uptake of her actions compared to Lana. Of course, while Lana was more thorough in making decisions, it seemed to Chloe, that Lana would take six months to make a decision that should have taken a week (okay, maybe two at the most) to decide on. Yet all of that was pushed aside as they entered the main lobby of SMC to find it packed with people, and some of the lights still flickering on and off intermittently.

After Chloe found out what room Lois was in from one of the attendants at the front desk, she and Jimmy made their way through the maze of make shift beds and people up to her room. With everything that was going on Chloe was amazed that Lois was able to get a room to herself, then again when Lois set her mind on something – well let's just say the landing at Normandy was more peaceful than being in the same room as Lois.

As they entered the room, Lois opened her eyes and greeted them in her usual "kind" manner that immediately let Chloe know she was out of the woods.

"Hey cuz, who's the string bean you brought along? Did you get so overloaded on coffee that you needed a designated driver to bring you out here?"

Chloe smirked as she shook her head, ignoring Lois' question she asked

"How are you feeling?"

Trying to sit up a little, Lois winced slightly saying,

"Ugh, bad enough to know that I am still in one piece. Now, let's try this again, who's the string bean?"

Chloe laughed now and said,

"Oh, sorry! Jimmy Olsen, meet my cousin, Lois Lane, Lois this is Jimmy."

Well, Jimmy was decidedly intimidated by Lois upon entering the room, and as such he had remained only a few steps from the door. Even though he knew Lois had been through an ordeal, the sound of her voice made him believe she could jump up at a moment's notice and kick him out a window. Jimmy put on the best smile he could and waved as he said,

"Hi!"

Lois huffed as she looked to Chloe saying,

"Wow, he's a real chatterbox huh!? Nice to meet you string bean."

Chloe couldn't help but chuckle at how brassy Lois was, even in the hospital. She also found it funny that Lois rarely called people by their proper names, preferring to come up with nick names that – somewhere in Lois' mind – fit the person she was talking to. Jimmy, now more uncomfortable than ever, did his best to play it cool – which was asking a lot for him, as he barely kept his voice from jumping as he spoke

"You too, it looks like you two have a lot to catch up on, so I'm going to wait outside."

After Jimmy exited the room, Lois turned to Chloe asking,

"Where did you dig up that little worm?"

"Shh…"

Chloe replied with a light chuckle as she continued,

"…be nice Lois!"

Lois lifted an eyebrow saying,

"I am being nice!! Smallville annoys the living daylights out of me, but at least he has the zeal to fire-off a few comebacks instead of being walked over like new enlistees!"

Chloe glared at Lois at the mention of Clark's name, her blood still lightly boiling from their last encounter. Quickly changing the subject, Chloe exclaimed,

"So, you seem to be in pretty good spirits overall considering I heard you were in a plane crash."

Lois quieted a little from her rambunctious-self as she replied,

"Yeah, I guess I have Mrs. Kent to thank for that. You know truthfully, I didn't even remember the plane crashing. The passenger cabin was steadily loosing pressure, I was working like crazy to catch my breath, and then I was in this ice castle. It was the most magnificent looking building I had ever been in. All of a sudden it felt like I was surrounded by this comforting light, and I could tell everything was going to be fine."

Chloe looked a little unsettled at this comment as she realized Martha must have somehow made her way to Clark's fortress with Lois in tow. She did her best to clear her mind of the fortress as she did not want Lois to catch on that she recognized where they had been. Chloe looked thoughtfully at Lois as she spoke,

"Lois you had sustained some pretty serious injuries, it is possible you were hallucinating."

Lois retorted sharply,

"NO! It was really there!! I am pretty sure I died and was in heaven."

Chloe smiled in relief that Lois did not have a clue as to where she had been, and reached out to carefully pat her shoulder saying,

"Well, I am just thankful that you made it back safely."

Lois gave Chloe a kind-hearted smile, a rare thing indeed, and replied,

"Thanks cuz, I really appreciate it. Look, thanks for the visit, but I'm still kind of tired from this stuff the docs are giving me."

Chloe cut her off,

"Oh, that's fine, you get some rest and I'll see you later."

Chloe returned Lois' smile as she stood up to leave saying,

"Besides, I need to make sure 'string bean' hasn't gotten himself lost out there!"

It was Lois' turn to laugh at her cousin's usual snarkyness. Happy to see that Chloe was okay, Lois drifted off to sleep. As Chloe closed the door behind her on her way out, she could not get over how peaceful Lois looked. Chloe thought to herself, "maybe the doctors could write a prescription for Lois for whatever they were giving her, this is the most peaceful she'd ever seen her cousin." Laughing silently to herself she snarked, "Well I guess it is true what they say, _anyone_ can look peaceful – when they're asleep that is!!"


	7. Part 6

Part 6

**Part 6**

Martha turned on the news to learn the latest on the fallout from Zod's attack. Clark cleared the table after having three helpings of the wonderful supper his Mom had prepared. He laughed as he finished putting away the last of the now clean dishes; _I've got to stop eating so much!!_ Clark joined his Mom in the family room to watch the news, and as he saw the images – a grimace grew across his face. Martha glanced over at Clark and caught the look on his face; it was one she had gotten to know all too often over the years. Before she could say anything to him Clark stood, turned to her long enough to say,

"I've got to go to work. This is my responsibility and I am going to make it right."

With that, Clark cut out the front door at top speed towards Metropolis. The scene that met his eyes was worse than what the images on the news had depicted. Taking a deep breath, Clark set about the task of 'cleaning up the town'. With the cover of darkness to aid him, along with power not yet restored to all the parts of the city, Clark made steady progress of clearing away the rubble that lay before him. His now well developed hearing tuned in for the slightest cry for help, or a moan of a person too weak to cry out for help.

As dawn approached, Clark had lost count of the number of people he had taken to the hospital, most of which were on the edge of unconsciousness or injured to the point that he did not hesitate to travel at super-speed to get them there. Clark slowed down just long enough to get the attention of a doctor, nurse, or medic to help the person he had brought in before going back to super-speed back to the city. As Clark now looked around, he knew more needed to be done – but with the sun now rising over the skyline he knew he could not risk using his abilities any further.

Before he took off back towards Smallville, he made one more attempt to listen for anyone that might be trapped. Clark was relieved to find his attempt was met with beautiful silence, and he said a silent prayer of thanks for something good happening to start off this new day. It appeared to Clark that the run back to Smallville took longer than usual as he slowed down, getting back to the farm. Clark had felt worn out before, but only on those odd occasions where he had lost his abilities for one reason or another. He noted, however, that standing on the porch soaking up the sun's morning rays seemed to make him feel better. Clark sighed as he opened his eyes, as good as the sun felt; he knew there were chores that needed to be tended to.

Martha glanced up from her coffee as Clark walked in the house, noting the look of fatigue on his face.

"Have you been out all night?"

"I can't take care of the mess Zod created in Metropolis during the day Mom; there's just too many people around then to try to use my abilities. Still it was worth working through the night, there were a lot of people that needed help, and I can't just stay here and do nothing."

"Hey, you are doing the best you can, remember Zod did this – not you. Now, why don't you go try to get some rest, it looks like you could use it."

"I can't Mom, there are chores to be done, plus there's other things I left unresolved that have been eating away at me. I meant to see to them last night, but after seeing just a glance of the discourse going on I had to put them on hold."

"Okay but don't push yourself too hard out there, even you have to rest at some point."

"I will Mom, I promise, I love you."

Clark kissed his Mom on her forehead as he headed out the door to see to his chores. After a couple of hours Clark was finishing up the last of his chores, he had taken it easy as his Mom suggested – though Clark thought he would never get used to having to do chores at this pace on a daily basis.

He remembered asking his Dad how he found the strength to do this everyday without any special abilities; he smiled as he remembered his Dad's response, "Lots of practice and knowing that a good day's work never killed anybody." Clark shook his head thinking, _well Dad I know you said practice makes perfect, but I can do without having to have this kind of practice everyday!!_ Shelby ran up to him from the house as he was walking up from the barn.

"Hey buddy, did you finally decide to get up from your nap now that the chores are done?"

Shelby turned his head quizzically to Clark before letting out a short, but strong "woof" in response. Then he wagged his tail at his master, waiting to be praised for what he saw as being a good deed.

"Ha-ha, yeah I know, you were 'guarding the house', good boy Shelby!"

Clark patted Shelby on his head and took a moment to scratch behind Shelby's left ear. Clark noted this always made Shelby kick his back leg out furiously, like a certain animated rabbit he'd seen in a film when he was a kid, which always hung around a deer when he was excited. Clark laughed out loud in spite of himself; it felt good to have a light hearted laugh after all the recent events. Then as he turned to make his way back up to the house, Shelby followed along side him, taking his usual spot near the front door to "guard the farm."

Clark saw this and chuckled at how Shelby was pricking his ears up from the mooing cows, and how that reminded him of another golden retriever he had seen on television recently. However, the television dog Clark was thinking of seemed to be making a career out of trying to sell "the secret family recipe" for beans, not exactly the work of your typical farm dog. Still, Shelby was hardly your "typical farm dog", Shelby had saved his Dad's life from a dog that (he later discovered) had been drugged with refined meteor rock.

As far as Clark was concerned, that earned Shelby the right to do as he pleased on the farm, his personal favorite being – annoying the daylights out of Lois!! Although Clark felt bad that she had been injured so bad that she was required to stay in the hospital, he was thrilled to have her gone!! This thought really lit up as face, as he smiled ear-to-ear, walking upstairs to get cleaned up.

After a short time Clark came back downstairs to find his Mom packing up some documents into an attaché case. She was dressed up in one of her new business suits that Clark was still getting used to seeing her in as part of her job for being a State Senator.

"Wow, you look great Mom!! You look like you're in a rush, do you have to head out already?"

"Yes, Lionel called earlier to let me know the governor had given him advanced notice of a trip out to Metropolis to survey the damage."

Clark frowned at the mention of Lionel, he still had a hard time trusting him – even with his connection to Jor-El.

"Mom…"

"I know Clark, I will be careful of Lionel, I don't trust him completely either – but he has helped us out a lot lately so try not to be too hard on him. I take it you're on your way out to see Chloe?"

"**MOM!!** How could you possibly know that?? Did I say anything about Chloe?"

"No, but I am your mother Clark, and a mother tends to know these things. Be sure to give her my love when you see her."

Clark shook his head in amazement at this revelation from his Mom. _Maybe Jor-El had given her some sort of telekinesis ability she had failed to tell him about while at the fortress._ Finally thinking that was highly unlikely, Clark went back to his conversation with his Mom while examining his Dad's watch, but he could not recall anything said then that would have told her about his new found feelings for Chloe.

He finally decided to let it go, he needed to go over again what he planned to say to Chloe as he drove their truck into town. Although Clark figured he could have just super-sped his way to the Talon, he figured it was a smart move to drive in to let himself continue to rest up. He knew the logical thing to do would have been to have just gone to bed to get some rest after getting cleaned up from doing his chores. However, when it came to Chloe and how he now realized he felt about her, being logical was the last thing on his mind – _I mean, how do you tell the girl that has been your best friend since eighth grade that you're in love with her_.

Right now, Clark just hoped that Chloe would have cooled down to the point to where he would have the chance to tell her that. Not only that; but Clark could not shake the image stuck in his mind of how happy Chloe looked sitting in the break room with Jimmy. Now, he knew (_especially since Chloe had vehemently told him as such_) that she and Jimmy were old news, but a part of him just couldn't shake the idea that the two of them looked a little "too" comfortable sitting there together. Clark felt his grip tighten on the steering wheel and managed to shake out of his thought process before snapping it like a twig. _Wow, I've got to be more careful here, I can't let my emotions run away on me like that_, lecturing to himself in a stern voice.

Before long Clark pulled into a parking space at the Talon, although this time he made it a point to take a few deep breaths before getting out. He also noticed he had the sensation that he could only relate to being what he had heard Pete call, _having butterflies in your stomach_, back when Pete ranted on about first asking out a girl he liked. Clark could not believe it; he never had anything like this happen to him before – not even when he was working up the nerve to ask Lana out. Yup, this was definitely new territory for him, and like heights, it terrified him. Still, he was here, and he was not going to back down now.

As he entered the Talon he went up to the counter to buy some reinforcements for his trek upstairs to Chloe's apartment. Clark was greeted by the lady that Martha had hired to fill in for her at the Talon since taking the job as State Senator. Her name was Caroline Cake, a sweet lady that had retired from teaching for 35 years, and was glad to have this job to get out of the house. Luckily for Clark, Caroline had been working there long enough to have filled several orders for Chloe's favorite combination. It was an astute mix of coffees and so forth that – to this day – Clark could not figure out how Chloe thought to order.

"Good morning Caroline! I need the Chloe Sullivan special, in fact make it a double!! Also, could you add a couple of glazed blueberry muffins to that order?"

"Whoa, a double!? Clark you must have really gotten into the doghouse this time to need a double! No worries though, the delivery truck still made it through on time so I'll have your order ready in a jiffy."

Clark went ahead and paid Caroline the total for his order as he began pacing the floor in front of the counter to wait. _Okay Clark, just remember to take it slow; don't say "I" all the time, don't get caught in her eyes (yeah right), and __most importantly__ listen carefully to her responses – THINK before you speak!!_ Clark did not get any further than this as he was suddenly jolted from his train of thought.

"Here you go Clark, a double Chloe Sullivan special, and two glazed blueberry muffins – fresh out of the oven!"

"Thanks Caroline, you are a life saver!!"

"Ha-ha! Well, I'll wait to see you walk out of Chloe's apartment _alive_ before I take credit on that one!!" She followed that comment with a kind hearted smile, a quick wink and added, "Good Luck Clark!"

Clark gave Caroline his best "puppy dog" look, smiled, and turned to head upstairs to Chloe's apartment. Somehow, the stairs seemed to have an ominous look to them, even though the handrails were adorned with the same accent lights as they always had been.

"Okay Clark, here goes everything!" He said quietly to himself as he knocked (maybe a little louder than usual) on the door.

A few moments later the door opened by a sleepy-eyed Chloe, clad in a bath robe, she reached up to rub her eyes as she spoke.

"Clark? What's wrong? Is your Mom okay? Did something happen to Lois that I have not heard about?"

"No, no, everyone's fine Chloe!! It's just….well…the other day…that is our last conversation….some of the things I said came out wrong….oh man, this was so much easier practicing on my way over here in the truck!"

Chloe had stood there in her groggy state, doing her best to listen to Clark without the aid of her morning coffee, until the last part of what he said registered in her brain.

"_**You did what??**_ Clark come on in here, we're not going to get anywhere with you standing in the doorway!"

Now Chloe was concerned, Clark rarely would take the time to drive over in the family's truck to see her. In fact, she was just starting to get used to the papers at wherever she happened to be rustling about every which way from Clark speeding in to speak to her with whatever the latest crisis was.

"Thanks Chloe!! Oh, I almost forgot, I come bearing gifts – the Chloe Sullivan special, a double as a matter of fact!! Caroline just fixed it up for me, and I had her put in a couple of freshly made blueberry muffins."

As Chloe took the bag, she nearly lost her train of thought as she breathed in the sweet savory aroma of her coffee, and those wonderful glazed blueberry muffins!! Wow, Clark had really gone all out, and it was this thought that shocked her back to her train of thought as they sat down at the kitchen table. Chloe took a sip of her coffee and spoke.

"Okay Clark, spill it, you don't normally drive anywhere unless you are getting equipment for the farm, and unless the Talon is now stocking tractor parts I doubt you are here for that, what's going on?"

"Well, that's kind of a long story, and given how things went last time, I don't know if you'd be up to talking to me that long." Clark threw in his best 'sad puppy dog' to reinforce the solemness of what he was saying.

Clark's only weakness maybe meteor rocks (or as Chloe was learning to call it, kryptonite) but that "sad puppy dog" look that Clark could do oh-so-well was her weakness, _I mean how can a person stay mad at a face like that!!_ Chloe felt herself crumble as she gave into his gaze.

"Okay, I forgive you Clark!! It's just, sometimes I think you get so wrapped up in worrying about your abilities that you forget what's going around you – especially when you make comments like you did the other day."

"I know Chloe, I'm really sorry about that!! In fact, I've spent a lot of time thinking about that, and it's one of the many reasons I came over here – there's actually a lot we need to talk about."

Chloe grinned at Clark's words, wondering for a moment if this was the same Clark that she had seen sulking around the farm for so long. Shaking her head, she knew she couldn't let herself go off on a tangent.

"Well, then it's a good thing you got me a double 'Chloe Sullivan Special' to go along with these muffins! So, let's start off with why you drove here instead of taking the 'Clark Kent Express'?

Relieved beyond words at Chloe's acceptance of his apology Clark began speaking.

"Well, you know Zod made a real mess of things, especially in Metropolis?"

Chloe nodded, which Clark took as a sign to continue; "My Mom and I saw the news last night showing a lot of it, as well as hearing reports of how many people were suspected injured among all the rubble. So, I took off from the farm to Metropolis…"

Clark continued to recant the events of the past evening and continued all the way up to when he had arrived there to speak to her. All the time he was speaking, it appeared to Clark that Chloe was soaking all this up like a sponge, _well, she is a reporter, and that's what good reporters do – they take in all the details_. As he finished this part of his story, Clark raised his eyebrows in a quizzical fashion – waiting for Chloe to respond.

"So, do you think you are back to normal now? Well, normal for you I mean?"

"I'm not really sure; I haven't really pushed myself to see whether or not I am back up to full strength."

"I don't get it Clark; you have expended energy multiple times in the past. I mean only a few months ago you rushed back to Smallville from the artic to catch up with a nuclear missile. This after being brought back from the dead for crying out loud!! Then you wound up having to disarm the warhead on the missile, toss it out into space, survive the shockwave from the blast, and live through the crash landing after making it back through the Earth's atmosphere. It just seems like all of that would have taken its toll with similar side effects to what you did while in Metropolis."

"I think I might have an explanation for you, and it goes back to when I had first come back to Metropolis looking for you at the Planet. I know I've taken up a lot of your time with just this part of the story, are you sure you have time now to hear the rest?"

Chloe went wide-eyed at Clark's question, and Clark was afraid he had stepped in it again (although he did not even know he had stepped in it the first time back at the Planet – _you'd think a guy that lived on a farm would be better about knowing how to avoid stepping in it_).

"**ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?** Clark, I guess you have kind of lost track of time with everything going on, but it is Saturday, I have the entire weekend free. And _(snarking just a bit as she said the next part)_, fortunately for you, wisdom graced you with the forethought to bring me a double of my coffee fix."

Clark smiled his biggest smile at hearing the spark of good humor back in Chloe's voice. Even though she had accepted his apology earlier, it took hearing that familiar tone in her voice – and he even caught that glint in her eye she only seemed to get when she was intrigued with something. Clark began to notice that he was holding his glance at Chloe a little too long, and shook himself out of his current train of thought. Taking a deep breath he braced himself to start at the beginning.

"We have to go back to when I left you at the Planet to stop Zod." Clark blushed a little at remembering the circumstances between he and Chloe when he left the Planet, but continued on point with his story. "Well, I got back to the farm to find Lex waiting for me in the barn. We got into a fight that took its toll on the barn. I mean it has gotten beat up a lot over the years, but this really tore up the loft good and proper!! At any rate, I managed to subdue him long enough to draw the knife Jor-El gave me and I lunged at Lex's throat."

"But…I…well…I just couldn't do it Chloe. I knew I was supposed to kill Zod's vessel, but all I could see was Lex staring back at me with fear and confusion on his face – and as much as things have changed I could not bring myself to kill him. The next thing I know, I hear Milton Fine hollering something about me not being able to change the course of destiny. So, without any forethought I threw the knife at him. I saw the knife plunge right into his heart, well where his heart should have been, only to see the handle on the knife's handle begin glowing red in a strange pulsing manner."

"I walked over towards Fine, concluding that the glow was some kind of reaction to the blade reacting to his kryptonian technology. I was shocked to hear Fine begin laughing as he told me I had opened the portal for Zod. Then next thing I know, I am thrown back against the remains of the stairwell and I hear Lex screaming at the top of his lungs."

"A moment later I made it back onto my feet only to find Lex standing over me, with this weird looking grin on his face as he greeted me with, 'Hello Kal-El.'"

Clark continued to tell Chloe of his brief interaction with Zod before being sent into the Phantom Zone. He explained that once he was there, he found that all his abilities were gone and how he was being attacked by the phantoms there. Chloe sipped the last of her coffee as she listened with great interest to the events she had missed being a part of. It took Clark a little longer than he expected to tell Chloe about Raya, and all that had happened to ultimately lead to his escaping the Phantom Zone. Seeing that Chloe's interest was still intense, noting how she kept her gaze fixed on him as she slowly ate the last of her two blueberry muffins, Clark continued with his story. He recalled making a "big hit" as he put it when he made it back to Earth, returning to his barn just in time to keep a stairwell from crushing his Mom and Lionel, and then heading off to the Luthor mansion to face Zod.

"Okay, so this is where my explanation as to why I seemed to 'run out of gas' coming back from Metropolis this morning comes into play."

"Clark, I hate to interrupt you, but I was still asleep when you knocked on the door earlier. I know you're on a roll here and all but I need to take a break. I mean two mega-sized cups of coffee runs its course eventually, at least for us humans it does!! Besides that, I still need to get ready for the day."

"Oh, I am so sorry!! I wasn't even thinking things have been so crazy; it seems like an eternity since we've spoke, and my 'cliff notes' version of what's happened is turning more into a 'novel by Tolstoy'." Kicking himself for being so inconsiderate, he continued. "Take all the time you need, do you mind if I hang out here and wait for you? I mean…that is…well…if it's too awkward I can wait downstairs."

Chloe shook her head with a comforting grin as she leaned forward, taking Clark's hand as she said, "Clark, you're fine! I won't be all day – I don't take as long as Lois to get ready for goodness sakes!"

Feeling some of the uneasiness dissipate, Clark returned her smile as he leaned over to her, playfully wiping away some of the glaze from the blueberry muffins that had settled onto the corners of her mouth. Suddenly, he felt a little blush rising over his cheeks as he noted Chloe's bathrobe had loosened just a bit from her leaning towards him. Clark hadn't noticed this before but he now noted that there was a little 'more' of Chloe there than there had been a moment ago.

Although her nightgown kept everything covered, Clark was still caught off guard by this, and doing his best to remain a gentleman, quickly sat back in his chair. Chloe noted Clark's quick movement back in his chair but chalked it up to Clark being Clark.

"Okay, well I'm going to go listen to the news while you go get ready."

"Sounds good, just don't go taking off on me, I want to hear this theory of yours, (_then Chloe laughed quietly to herself has she quoted one of her favorite news reporters growing up, Paul Harvey, as she said the last of her thought_) and I want to know 'the rest of the story'".

"Don't worry Chloe, I'm not going anywhere." Clark said with a wink as Chloe got up.


	8. Part 7

**Part 7**

"Clean up efforts continue in Metropolis, though at a considerably faster rate than first estimates had forecasted. Local officials have not yet been able to account for the miraculous progress here. The governor did issue a statement while touring Metropolis with State Senator Martha Kent saying, 'Thank God that although there were multiple injuries reported in from hospitals, no casualties have been reported.' In other news, Pentagon officials disavow any reports of faulty security or responsibility relating to the events of Dark Thursday." – CLICK

"Well, at least they did not say anything about a super-powered terrorist breaking into the Pentagon's main offices."

Clark breathed with a sigh of relief as he switched off the television. As he turned to lean back on the sofa he only then realized how tired he was. The sun flooded through the windows in Chloe's apartment, and the warming effect made it easy for Clark's eyelids to drift shut. Plus Clark could hear Chloe humming in the shower, it was a mesmerizing tune that he found easily lulled him off to sleep.

Sometime later Chloe emerged from her bedroom to find Clark fast asleep on the couch.

"Huh, I guess I took a little longer than I thought getting ready!"

Glancing back over to the clock, Chloe did a double take as she saw it was now near noon!!

"Okay, scratch that, I _DID_ take longer than I thought getting ready!"

To Chloe's credit she did find herself going through doing a lot more primping than she normally did to be ready for a day. Although they had not discussed anything, per se, Chloe kept getting the feeling Clark was looking at her more than usual while speaking to her. And not the 'keep eye contact while speaking to be polite' looking that Chloe was accustomed to in their usual conversations. No, this was different; it was almost like Clark was drinking in the sight of her as he had been explaining recent events. Chloe also had not gone without noticing that Clark was wearing new clothes. Sure they were still his usual attire of a blue and white plaid button-up shirt, blue jeans, and work boots.

However, the shirt looked to have been ironed, the jeans were not faded from having been worn while doing chores out on the farm, and the work boots did not have the creases in them from everyday use – _hey she was a journalist, she is supposed to take note of the details_. Something else had been a little out of kilter with Clark, he was stumbling over his words a lot lately….not something Chloe could recall him doing since he had first started going out with Lana. Yet, Chloe knew that he and Lana were done for, especially after their _not so friendly_ parting of the ways. Still, Chloe knew she would figure out what it was, it would only be a matter of time.

Breaking out of her current train of thought, Chloe walked over to Clark (who was still sleeping like a baby on the couch). Chloe found herself grinning as she sat down next to him on the edge of the sofa. This was the most peaceful she could ever recall seeing Clark in recent memory. Chloe found herself mesmerized at the sight of him breathing peacefully, his chest barely rising and falling underneath his shirt. Suddenly thoughts that were 'a little more than friendly' rushed through Chloe's mind as to how to wake Clark up. However, she managed to kick herself out of that 'Danielle Steele Novel' mode of thinking, blushing at the thought of having read some of those stories when she had trouble sleeping at night. Chloe hated to wake him up but knew that Clark seemed to have a lot on his mind, and was mindful that he would want to be getting back to the farm as it was near lunch time. Laughing quietly to herself, you could almost set your watch by when Clark got hungry. Feeling a little jealous at how Clark could always put away so much food without thinking about weight, Chloe chalked it up to his special kryptonian metabolism.

Chloe leaned down to Clark's ear as she whispered carefully, not wanting to jar him awake (as Chloe did not have a lot of experience waking him up from sleeping, she was not sure what kind of reaction Clark may have) from his restful slumber.

"Clark! It's time to rise and shine!"

Chloe pulled back and waited for a moment, but saw no reaction from her 'sleeping giant' so she tried again,

"Clark, wake up sleepy head!"

This time Chloe caught a low moan escape Clark's throat as his head turned to towards her, though his eyes remained closed. Then Clark mumbled a loud,

"Mmm, that feels good Chloe, don't stop – only could you get that spot a little lower on my back."

Chloe's eyes shot up wide and her mouth dropped open in surprise at the words coming from Clark's mouth. Still, she reminded herself that he was just having a dream, but still it must have been one whale of a dream. Determined to wake him up this time, Chloe leaned in towards Clark and said in a much louder voice.

"Clark get up, it's almost time for lunch!"

Chloe felt Clark start to stretch out under her and sighed in relief that he was finally waking up. This relief was replaced with surprise as she was suddenly pulled down so that she was lying on top of Clark, with his arms around her. Then as she looked up at him she found that his eyes were still closed as he spoke again.

"Mmm…just five more minutes, then I promise we'll go."

Not that she minded being in Clark's arms like this, but Chloe still had questions she needed answered. And by golly, when she got it set in her mind that she was going to get answers she got them!! So, Chloe decided drastic action was needed here, and managed to work her arms free enough to reach around to either side of Clark to tickle him. Chloe had discovered years ago, when they first met, that Clark was ticklish at his sides – just above the waist – and she hoped this would do the trick. Before long she noticed a grin start to grow on Clark's lips, Chloe took this as a good sign – and intensified the tickling as she exclaimed loudly:

"CLARK, WAKE UP ALREADY!!"

All of a sudden Clark shot upright on the sofa in laughter, and thankfully kept his arms around Chloe so that she did not fall to the floor. Grateful to have him awake, Chloe ceased the tickling and looked slyly at him as she quipped.

"Well it's about time!! I thought I was going to have to play the _William Tell Overture_ to get you to wake up!! By the way, it sounded like you were having quite an interesting dream there mister!"

"Chloe! I am so sorry!! I finished listening to the news, and laid down here to rest while waiting on you. I didn't mean to drift off to sleep like that….it's just….well….I've been pretty beat!!"

It was not until then that Clark realized the rather precarious way Chloe was sitting on him and that he had his arms around her. Blushing heavily, he moved his arms (although reluctantly – it felt really good holding her like that) so she could get up.

"Gees, I must have really been out of it for you to have had to resort to the 'tickle-attack' to wake me up!! Wow, I don't think I have endured that since middle school." Clark said with a quick bit of humor to lighten the mood – and dispel some of his embarrassment.

"Yeah, you definitely were past the 'sawing logs' metaphor for sleeping, and had moved on to being a regular 'knot on a log'!! Chloe snarked playfully with a smile in response to Clark's quip.

Then Clark's stomach growled very loudly as he stood up from the couch. "Oh wow, is it lunch time already?" Clark looked over at the clock on the wall to confirm his stomach's plea. Sure enough, it was just after 12.

"Hey Chloe, would you like to come out to the farm for lunch? Mom and I made a ton of food last night for supper, and there are plenty of leftovers for at least a couple of meals. We've got everything from ham to turkey."

"I'd love to Clark, plus it'll give us a chance to continue our conversation from earlier. Just let me grab a few things."

As the two of them headed out of the Talon, Caroline hollered at Clark from behind the counter on his way out:

"Well, I guess I really was a life saver Clark, I see you're still alive!"

Caroline gave Clark a knowing grin as she waited for his reply.

"Yeah, thanks a million for the coffee and muffins Caroline!!"

Clark replied with one of his trademark smiles. Then he hurried to catch up with Chloe as they made their way back to the truck. Ever the gentleman, Clark opened the passenger side door for Chloe to get in, to which Chloe snarked – "Well what do you know, chivalry isn't dead!" – and gave Clark a sly smile. Clark could only shake his head as he shut the door and ran around to get in the driver's side. As Clark started the truck and began the drive to the farm he thought to himself:

_"Well once I tell her about the fight with Zod, I can lead into my conclusion about feeling so wore out. Then if that doesn't freak her out, maybe I can get to what happened before I left her at the Planet. Come on Clark, this is Chloe you're talking about, she's taken everything else in stride – I doubt the rest will phase her. He just hoped she would not clam up when he got to talking about the OTHER matter._"


	9. Part 8

Part 8

**Part 8**

The trip back to the Kent farm seemed to pass quickly for Clark as he remained deep in thought regarding the impending conversation. Chloe thought about speaking to him several times on the way back to the farm, but thought better of it when she caught what had become known as the _Kent Thousand Yard Stare_. She knew whenever Clark had that look on his face that trying to engage him in meaningful conversation would be as auspicious as her getting through the day without coffee (well more to the point, caffeine). Instead Chloe took note of the scenery that passed her by, and took solace at being able to enjoy the ride – instead of worrying about some kind of cataclysm threatening them and those they cared for. Chloe smiled out the window with the thought, _it's going to be a great day._

As Clark pulled the truck to a stop in front of the barn, he decided now would be as good a time as any to give his abilities a quick check. Clark tried his speed and found it responded normally, as he was able to get out of the truck and over to the passenger door to open it before Chloe had reached to unbuckle her seatbelt. Clark smiled to himself at this successful test, and decided that his other abilities could be tested later – he had more pressing concerns to attend to.

"Service with a smile!" Clark quipped as he helped Chloe out of the truck.

Playing along with the jest Chloe snarked, "Why thank you my good sir.", and even managed to perform a classic southern curtsy.

Taking Chloe's hand as they made their way to the farmhouse, Clark shifted to a decidedly serious/caring demeanor, as he turned to look her in the eye. Then, giving her one of his best (as Chloe tended to refer to them – _Kent charm_) grins he said, "You look beautiful, Chloe." He thought fondly back to the last time he had told her this, it was in response to her inquiry, _What do you think, too pink?_, just before leaving for the spring formal back in their freshman year of high school.

Chloe beamed back "Thank you!" in surprise, as she was not used to comments like that coming from Clark. Then, almost as if she could read Clark's thoughts, Chloe also remembered them standing at the picket fence surrounding the farmhouse before heading to the spring formal all those years ago. She squeezed Clark's hand at this memory, and as she had done those years ago, she replied – "You've cleaned up nicely yourself!" Both stood in silence - looking into each others eyes - conveying thoughts unspoken now, as they had then before the dance, only to be broken from their trance by a familiar _bark_.

Shelby, immediately wagging his tail, ran down the stairs from the porch to greet them as they neared the farmhouse. Dismissing Clark, Shelby ran right up to Chloe and sat down, his tail still wagging a mile-a-minute, awaiting praise for having learned to not jump up at guests arriving at the farm. Chloe laughed as she knelt down to greet Shelby and scratch behind his ears.

"Hey, what am I chopped liver? So much for man's best friend!" Clark playfully chided his dog.

"Don't be so hard on him Clark, he obviously has good taste!" Chloe quickly quipped back at Clark's remark.

Clark laughed at Chloe's comeback, went over and knelt down to pet Shelby.

"Okay buddy, Chloe's got me on that one, you're forgiven."

As soon as Clark starting petting him too, Shelby quickly took the opportunity flail out on his back to get his belly rubbed. This time both Clark and Chloe laughed at Shelby's silliness, but went ahead and rubbed his belly anyway. As if inducing a trance by this, Shelby closed his eyes and was quickly sleeping like a baby.

"Yup, this dog definitely has it made in the shade!" Chloe smirked quietly noting that Shelby was sawing logs.

Clark shook his head at Chloe's joke as he stood up, and held out his hand to Chloe to help her up. Then as they were going into the house, Clark couldn't help himself as he added, "Well, it's a _rough_ life, there's no _bones_ about it."

"Clark, don't quit your day job, and leave the bad puns to the late night talk show hosts!" Chloe snarked as she walked over to the kitchen sink to get washed up.

"Ouch! Touché Chloe, I yield!" Clark answered as he stepped into the hall bath to get washed up too.

Clark switched into super speed and had the leftovers set out in no time. Forgoing the oven Clark used his heat vision to warm everything up, but stopped shy of burning anything as the kitchen was filled with the smells of all the good food Martha Kent had made the night before. They quickly fixed their plates with a sundry of foods, and then sat down at the kitchen table.

Continuing on from when he arrived at the Luthor mansion, Clark explained that he saw an octagonal disk (somewhat reminiscent of the key to his own ship that carried him to Earth) spinning on Lex's laptop – engaged in some sort of download. Getting a drink of water, Clark explained he used his heat vision to destroy the octagonal disk only to be met by Zod yelling in disgust before rushing him as they both smashed out the window. Chloe continued taking all this in stride, as Clark continued how he and Zod flew a great distance, locked in hand-to-hand combat, with Zod having the upper hand because of his military background.

Seeing no way out of the situation, Clark explained how he played a bluff of surrender and was able to use Raya's crystal (Clark placed the crystal on the table for Chloe to examine) to extirpate Zod's phantom essence from Lex, and presumably sent it back to the Phantom Zone. The process resulted in Lex falling unconscious, and Clark continued, that he took him to SMC to be looked after before heading back to the farm.

"So, the way I figure it, with all the expenditures I was placing on my abilities with my fight with Zod, fixing up the farm, and then spending all night at full speed – coupled with the fact that I had not been back from the Phantom Zone long – I think my batteries ran out. Although, since I have been taking it easy lately, and spending time soaking up the sun, it seems like things are getting back to 'normal' for me. I mean, you saw my speed and heat vision appear back up to par."

Clark reached around and rubbed the back of his neck, happy to have that over with. Chloe stood up, walked behind his chair, and began rubbing his shoulders. Clark responded by leaning back in his chair, enjoying Chloe's relaxing touch.

"Wow, you've really had a time of it Clark!! Seesh, you're really tense, you're like iron for goodness sakes!"

"Steel." Clark moaned in a jovial manner, to which Chloe lightly slapped his shoulder, grinned, and went back to her chair.

"So, is this the first time your abilities have gone out like that?"

"Well, there was this one time a few of years ago – you remember when Perry White came to town?"

"How could I forget, it's not everyday that you get to meet Perry 'The Pit Bull' White?"

"Well, it was also around that same time that a comet collided with the sun, causing massive solar flares. My abilities started to glitch in time with those solar flares. One minute I would be out of gas, the next minute I was operating in overdrive."

"Which explains how your tractor wound up all over the highway, you know I never could figure how a tractor just falling off a flatbed would put it into so many pieces."

"Yeah, well it was the best Dad and I could come up with at the time. Anyhow, once the solar flares had subsided, my abilities were back to normal. I guess everything I can do is directly connected to the sun, a yellow sun, which would account for my fatigue and diminished capacity. It has just taken my body a while to recharge itself."

Chloe reached out, took Clark's hand, and stroking his palm said; "Then it's fortunate that your body had recharged itself enough for you to face Zod, Clark you had me so scared."

Clark felt a slight shiver of excitement go through his spine at Chloe's touch. He managed to steady himself as he replied; "I know Chloe, I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted in the world was for you to worry. Well, that's pretty much what I had started to tell you when I first came back to find you. However, there's one more thing I need to talk to you about…."


	10. Part 9

Part 9

**Part 9**

"Clark, are you okay?" Chloe asked as she slightly squeezed his hand.

This snapped Clark out of his gaze as he shook his head and said, "Yeah, sorry, I was getting a little preoccupied there for a minute. Look, why don't you go have a seat on the sofa, I'll clean up here and be there in a second. Did you want anything else, something to drink?"

"Clark, you set everything up, why don't you let me help you clean up, I really don't mind. I mean…"

Before Chloe could finish her sentence, Clark had already washed, dried, and put away the dishes – along with returning all the remaining leftovers to the refrigerator. He was now standing at the corner of the counter as he retorted with a smile, "You're a guest Chloe, and here guests don't have to work with setting up meals or cleaning up dishes. Now did you want something to drink?"

"Wow, uh yeah, some lemonade would be great, thanks Clark." Chloe got up and made her way to the sofa in the family room. It did not matter how many times she saw Clark move like that, she thought she'd never get used to it. With a slight grin, Chloe pondered for a moment if Clark's parents had ever gotten used to seeing their son use his abilities. She quickly stored that thought away, reminding herself to ask Martha later, as Clark walked over with tall glass of lemonade – along with a coaster for the end table to sit the glass on (_I guess all those reminders by Martha to 'use a coaster' had finally sunk through Clark's head – either that or the punishment for forgetting would be worse than being exposed to meteor rock_).

Clark sat the drink down on the coaster on the end table and grabbed an after dinner mint before taking a seat beside Chloe, turning so he was looking right at her. They both sat there in silence for a moment, one patiently waiting for the other to speak. Clark felt his thoughts drifting off again.

"Hello Clark? I know I'm a keenly astute reporter, but even I can't read your silences." Chloe remarked light-heartedly as she turned to face him as well, bringing her knee up to where it almost touched his. Then she reached over to playfully pat his knee, trying to convey the jovial meaning of her comment.

"Sorry, I was just trying to figure out exactly how to say this. Actually, I've gone over it a million different times it seems like, I always trip myself up." Clark's tone took on a decidedly plea-full one as he continued. "Please, just bear with me Chloe, I made a promise to myself to tell you this, and I'm not walking away this time."

The look on Chloe's face shifted to one of concern and understanding as she rubbed his knee saying, "Hey its okay, take your time, I'm not going anywhere Clark. Besides, it's me – Chloe – your best friend and _Fort Knox of Secrets_, you can talk to me about anything."

Without thinking, Clark found his hand moving up to cup Chloe's face as he spoke, "Thanks Chloe. You've always been there for me, no matter what, and that means a lot more to me than you know."

He stroked the side of her face a couple of times with his thumb before moving his hand away from her. Chloe responded with a reassuring smile, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side where his hand had been. There was always kindness and tenderness in Clark's touch, Chloe observed, even though he was the strongest being she had ever met.

Clark took a steady, slow breath "Chloe, back before I left the Daily Planet to face Zod, there was this moment where we…well…you and I…."

"You mean when I laid one on you?" Chloe interrupted as she observed Clark was having a difficult time getting the words out. "Don't worry about it Clark, as best as I could tell _Armageddon_ was upon us, and I let my emotions take over. It's not like I expected you to come running back to me ready for a relationship, or anything like that."

Chloe quickly followed this by slightly raising her eyebrows and gave him the best fake smile she could muster. Okay, so she was lying, _again_, but had grown so comfortable in her role as a comforter, protector, friend, and known secret keeper that even with him no longer being with Lana – she could not find the courage to let him in on her feelings. So, she intuitively played the _friends card_ again in hopes that would to get him to chalk-up what happened as just being 'one of those things'.

"Chloe, you may have 'laid one on me', but as I recall, I kissed you back." Clark replied with a smile, remembering the kiss, as it played repetitiously in his brain.

"Clark, I know you kissed me back, but I was the one that initiated it to begin with. I mean you were on your way out the door. If I had not called out to you, you would have gone on to your fight with Zod, and we would not even be having this conversation right now. I mean, sure it was a _great_ kiss, but relationships that start under intense circumstances like that just don't last. Not only that, but what about the old song that goes, _'a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh…'_"

Looking as though she might pass out from lack of oxygen, Clark knew he had to do something to slow her down. So, Clark did the only thing he could think of, he hollered out, "CHLOE!"

"WHAT?...WHAT?...WHAT?"

"I've seen you on the war path before, but this is keyed-up even for you. Look, let's just slow down for a minute, okay?"

"You're right Clark, I'm sorry, you're trying to be upfront with what's going on, and I'm giving you the _third degree_ here."

"Hey, it's okay, I mean, look how long it's taken me to speak-up about this – not exactly _Speedy Gonzales_ for someone with my abilities right?"

Chloe chuckled lightly at that comment, which drew a light smile of thanks from Clark – as he reached over and rubbed her arm, her breathing slowing back down to normal.

"Look Chloe, not that I don't appreciate your reference to the _classics_, but that kiss was more than just a kiss to me. Now, please hear me out before you get started up again."

Chloe gave him a wry smile as she settled back into the sofa, waiting for him to continue.

Clark looked Chloe straight in the eye as he spoke; "Thanks, look, a lot of things have happened since we've met. I know we've had our ups and downs, and that we've kissed before in the past – though it was usually a case of one of us not being ourselves, or a ploy to get out of a precarious jam. However, this time neither of us was under the influence of anything but our emotions, and you're the one that's always telling me I need to be more honest about my feelings.

Chloe, with everything that has happened; my Dad passing away, Milton Fine and Zod showing up, Lana pulling a 180 on me , and of all people – Lionel being the one Jor-El uses as an oracle to communicate with me, I have had one person I could always turn to – you. I know I have not done the best job of showing it, but I've appreciated you being there more than words can describe. There were times when things were weighing on me that I felt like I could not even talk to my Mom about, but you were always there. You always had an open ear, day or night, to lend comfort to me. It has always been you that put her life on hold, at the drop of a hat, to help me anyway you could. What I am trying to say is that I have been falling in love with you over all this time.

"This became even clearer to me when we kissed before I left to face Zod. I felt a spark, a connection, a vivification, an awakening then, almost as though a veil of fog had finally dissipated – and I finally saw things clearly. Then when I was trapped in the Phantom Zone, I kept thinking about you, worried about having left you at the Daily Planet, not knowing if you were safe, and worst of all – wondering if I would get the chance to tell you any of this."

"I remember Raya's words, 'Zod's a soldier, a general, he will _kill_ you.', and I responded, 'If there was a way to save those you loved, wouldn't you risk dying?' I know this is a lot to take in and I realize you may not feel the same way about me. If that's the case, then I'll deal with it, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering _'what if?'_ Please, just do me a favor - _look to your heart_ - and tell me how you honestly feel about us."

Chloe sat there in stunned silence; in fact, she had barely blinked during this entire exposition Clark had just thrown at her. She was completely flummoxed, Clark had said so much, and said a lot of things she had been waiting a long time to hear. Not knowing what to do, she reached around and took a long drink of her lemonade, leaving the glass half-full when she stopped. Returning the glass to the coaster, Chloe turned around to see that Clark was now looking down at his hands, folded in his lap, still waiting for a response. She knew that it must have taken a lot out of him to have been so bold with his feelings, and felt an even greater measure of respect and adoration for him.

"Clark, I am so proud of you, I don't know how to verbalize how grateful I am for your words. You're right, I have been on your case about being upfront with your feelings, and here I am using my _classic self-defense mechanisms_ to keep you at arm's length out of fear. I guess it's another instance of _do as I say, not as I do_ being plainly illustrated."

She sighed.

"Sorry, I'm doing it again, using sarcasm instead of saying what I feel. I guess I'm just not as brave as you are Clark, and you've proven again why you're my hero. Because this time, you didn't risk bodily injury by your actions, but you risked your heart."

"Clark, I need you to look at me here, it's kind of hard taking to the top of your head."

Clark slowly, but steadily, raised his head to look up at her. Chloe was saddened to see that Clark had tears running down his face, and more tears were cresting in his eyes – threatening to run out at any minute.

"Oh my God, Clark!"

She didn't think, didn't analyze, instead she just reacted to seeing him in pain. Chloe reached out and pulled Clark up to her as she held him in a hug. Clark instinctively wrapped his arms around her and just held her as the tears continued to flow down his cheeks. Neither of them spoke, both were lost in their emotions – Clark overcome with how hard it had been to say all those things to Chloe, Chloe overcome with the sight of Clark in so much pain as to draw tears. She had seen him that upset before but only on very solemn occasions. It was only then that Chloe realized how much Clark had put on himself.

Then Chloe felt a few tears of her own well up and run down her face. She quietly cursed herself for tearing-up like that; she needed to be stronger for Clark – and for herself. Although it felt wonderful to hold him like this, Chloe knew she had to look him in the eye. After all, Clark had looked her straight in the eye as he expressed his feelings for her, leaving no doubt that what he had said was true – and she would do the same for him. Right now, Chloe prayed that the water works would have stopped by now, she could barely stand to see him in tears – it tore through to her very soul.


	11. Part 10

Part 10

**Part 10**

"Chloe, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you like that. Dad always taught me growing up that guys aren't supposed to cry; besides you'd think someone with all my abilities would be stronger than that right. I'm so embarrassed, forgive me?"

Clark quickly wiped away the tears from his face as he slowly pulled himself out of Chloe's embrace, only to be struck down by the sight of tears running down Chloe's face.

"Oh God, I really did it this time!! I mean, I knew you were taken by surprise, but I didn't mean to make you cry!! God, Chloe, I am so sorry!! I've gone over this so many times, I thought I had it worked out to where it would go smoothly, instead it seems all I've done is make a mess of things."

Clark reached out and tenderly wiped the tears from Chloe's face as he continued.

"I'm being selfish again; I've dumped all of this on you, and asked you for a response just like that. What about this idea Chloe, don't say anything now - just think about what I've said. Then whenever you're ready, we can sit down and discuss whatever your decision is. Does that sound like an amicable concession to our current predicament?"

Clark's face changed quickly from a look of questioning confirmation to confusion. Because instead of seeing Chloe having that pondering look he knew so well when she was figuring out something that had her stumped, she had that knowing smile on her face.

"Clark, you are really something else sometimes, you know that?" Chloe said in a tender, light-hearted tone as she reached out and caressed Clark's face.

"Look, you have nothing to apologize for!! I understand the whole macho _it's not right for men to cry_ mentality, but Clark, realize you just let out what had – up to now – been a rehearsed soliloquy of _Titanic_ emotional proportions. And for your information, I personally saw your Dad get tears in his eyes on several occasions – when he got you back home safely from your 'Red-K stupor to Metropolis', when you led the football team to the state championship our senior year (even though he _insisted_ that he disapproved of you playing football), and I can even remember seeing tears in his eyes when you had me over here for all of us to watch _'Seabiscuit'_ on movie night. So, hey don't beat yourself up for having a rational response to an emotional situation okay."

Clark laughed quietly to himself at Chloe's recanting of events regarding his Dad, and a thoughtful smile spread across his face as he recalled each one she mentioned.

"Secondly, you're not being selfish!! I kind of picked up on you feeling different about me since you first showed up at the Daily Planet from the run in with Zod. It's just, well, every time we've gotten near the point of taking our relationship past _the friendship zone_, there was always a raven-haired young lady that I felt like I was being compared to. I understand now that you never wanted to go beyond our friendship because of how you felt about Lana, and if anything I was the selfish one for it. However, you thought more about my feelings, and did not want to hurt me by entering into something only to break my heart. I understand things are different now, Lana's with Lex now – and I was there to witness the meltdown between you two. I even thought about approaching you then with my feelings, but I was afraid of being the rebound girl. Still, that has been sometime ago, so I want – _I need_ – for you to understand that I know that's not where I would be here."

Chloe could see from the uncertain look on Clark's face that he wasn't sure where she was going with this; she knew she needed to cut to the chase.

"Sorry Clark, I tend to fallback into _'reporter'_ mode and go into long winded expositions, rather than keeping an internal monologue than would produce _'just the facts'_ for auditory responses."

Clark chuckled aloud at Chloe's remark, much to her relief as she continued.

"Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that I've had an abundant amount of time to think about what you've told me. Honestly, I've dreamed about you saying what you did, well okay – maybe not exactly because I never knew what the circumstances would be – but you get the picture."

Chloe couldn't help blushing at her honest confession, to which Clark gave her a tender smile as he reached out and caressed her shoulder.

"Clark, it's been no secret that I've been in love with you for a long time. You're right, a lot has happened throughout the years that we've known each other, and there's a lot of water under the bridge. Even still, we've seen each other at our highest highs and our lowest lows, and my love for you has remained steadfast. When I finally learned your secret something happened that I didn't think was possible. I started loving you more. The need to be there for you, to protect you, and to help you as much as I could grew as well. Then when you finally learned that I knew your secret, and I saw the strength you drew in being able to confide in me about everything you faced with your abilities – I knew my love for you would never go away."

"Clark, I am thrilled beyond what any cleverly contrived dissertation could convey by your words. They're words that I have waited to hear longer than you know. So I am not going to run away this time, I am not going to hide behind any snarky or off-the-cuff quips, I'm going to put into words _at least, as best I can,_, what's in my heart. And I can tell you, from my heart and soul, that I love you too, more now than you know."

It was Clark's turn to be lost for words. Chloe could always touch him with her words, she had helped him so many times with her words, and now she had touched his soul. In Clark's mind she was every bit the hero that she made him out to be, for he could not count how many times she had saved him.

Tentatively, Clark reached over and pulled Chloe onto his lap. He gently caressed her face as he moved his closer to her. Their eyes slowly closed as their lips met in a slow soft kiss, Clark wrapped his other arm around Chloe as they continued the kiss. Both of them could feel the electricity sparking, and running through their spines. Then a feeling of warmth, of being comfortable with each other seemed to take hold as Chloe wrapped both arms around Clark.

She moved gently into Clark, nudging him to deepen the kiss, to which Clark promptly responded. The memory of their kiss in the Daily Planet flooded both their minds as this kiss played out, although this kiss put the former to shame. Chloe now let out a soft moan as Clark slowly moved his hands to softly rub her back. Now having a little freedom to move with him rubbing her back, Chloe moved her hands back to softly rub his shoulders. This time, it was Clark that released a moan of pleasure at Chloe's tender touch.

Finally, needing to get some air, Chloe pulled away from the intense kiss. However, she continued rubbing Clark's shoulders and he continued the soft undulations to Chloe's back.

"WOW!! I thought you _took my breath away_ at the Planet before you left, Clark that was amazing!!" Chloe said in a breathless malaise.

"Chloe, you are amazing!! By the way, don't stop the shoulder massage that feels wonderful."

Eyeing him with a sly look Chloe replied, "Whatever you say Clark." Then she leaned in for another kiss, and as their lips brushed against each other, she pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked in a worried tone.

"Clark, when I was trying to wake you up back in my apartment, you mumbled out a loud 'Mmm…Chloe that feels good, don't stop but could you get that spot lower on my back?' Now, just what were we doing??"

"Uh, well, Chloe, you know it was just a dream. Besides, I've been awake for a while now, and you know it gets harder to recollect the details of a dream the longer one is awake."

"Uh-huh, sure Clark!" Chloe was feeling a little more confident now, after that kiss with Clark and decided to have a little fun. So, she halted the shoulder massage and reached one hand around to massage his lower back, while she used the other to lightly tickle his side. "How about now, anything coming back to you Clark?"

Clark let out half a moan and laughed at Chloe's actions. Finally he said, "Okay, I give, I give, I remember now, just stop with the tickling!!"

Chloe halted the barrage of tickling and moved her other hand around to massage his back. All the while she held Clark's eyes in a sly gaze as she waited for the details.

"Look Chloe, it's not like we were engaged in anything dirty or anything like that. All that happened in the dream was I had stopped by your apartment to meet you for coffee one evening. I brought dinner over and we had just finished eating, and were talking about how our respective day had gone. I had been in a fight with a meteor-infected escapee from Belle Reeve, and during the fight I slammed into a field that had been impacted with meteor fragments."

He shrugged.

"Although I managed to win the fight, return the escapee to Belle Reeve, and with my Mom's help – remove the meteor fragments from my back; I was still a little sore. Well, in my dream you had gone around me and started massaging my shoulders. Then as you were waking me up, I was asking if you could get my lower back too."

"Okay."

"Okay, you mean that's it, you're not going to give me a hard time about the dream?"

"No Clark, haven't I ever told you that bossing you around is the highlight of my day?"

"Actually no, you've never mentioned that to me before."

"Well, that's good, because I have a new _highlight of my day now_!!

"Oh, and what might that be?" This time it was Clark's turn to give Chloe a sly knowing grin.

"Mmm...why don't I just show you?"

Chloe then closed the distance between them, delving into another deep kiss with Clark. Clark eagerly returned the kiss and relished the sweet taste of her lips. Then Clark pulled away from the kiss, much to Chloe's chagrin.

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked in worried angst.

"Nothing, I just wanted to tell you, again, that I love you."

Chloe couldn't help but smile at his words; she could not get over hearing him say that. "You know, I could definitely get used to hearing that."

"That's good, because I plan on telling you everyday Chloe. You and I together – it's stronger than any of my abilities alone." Clark smiled and started back in to kiss Chloe when she stopped him.

"What?" he asked quizzically.

"Nothing, I just wanted tell you that I love you too." Chloe said, with her eyes beaming brightly. She had no doubts left; Clark was really in love with her!!

"I know." Clark said with a smile that reflected the adoration, affection, and respect he felt for her. Then he leaned in, this time without any interruption, to give her another kiss.

As soon as his lips brushed against hers, Chloe pulled him right up against her, moaning lightly as she immediately deepened the kiss.

_Yup_, she thought to herself, _this was indeed, a VERY good day_.


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"I thought it was a very productive day Senator, you received several accolades from the media, and the governor seemed impressed with the current situation from his tour." Lionel observed as the limousine pulled to a stop in front of the Kent farm.

"I'm just thankful no one was killed with everything that happened with Zod in Metropolis. I noticed there was no new report of the ongoing investigation at the Pentagon; I take it we are to conclude that 'no news is good news' from that?"

"I spoke with several of my contacts at the Pentagon after the governor concluded his remarks. They are still puzzled at how someone was able to break into the heavily secured bunker that contained the launch codes for our nuclear arsenal. When I pressed them for details on the intruder, they responded that they had none as the intruder had disabled all the audio and video surveillance equipment before entering the premises. With that being the case, at least I do not have to worry about them coming after Lex. Although he claims to not have any knowledge of what happened to him, but I don't know how truthful he's being.

"When I spoke to him on the phone before meeting up with you to leave Metropolis, he said the last thing he remembered was being out in a field with Lana when he was knocked unconscious by a bright beam of light. Still, you would do well to remind Clark to keep a watchful eye out for Lex, especially since my link with Jor-El does not seem to be as strong as it was."

"I'll be sure to let him know, are you saying your connection to Jor-El has been severed completely?"

"I'm not certain, I cannot feel his presence as strongly as I could before, although I can tell there is still an essence in some form of contact with me – though it takes a great deal of concentration to discern anything it is conveying. Perhaps now that the threat Zod posed has been quelled, Jor-El is bidding his time to see how events will unfold."

"Well, thank you for the ride to and from Metropolis, I certainly have plenty to work on before the next full senate assembly. I'd best be getting inside to see about supper, you're welcome to stay if you'd like."

"That's very kind of you, but there's still quite a bit I need to see to at Luthorcorp. Besides, I think it would be a smart idea to pay Lex a visit in person, and see if he has recalled anything of recent events. Good day Senator."

"Lionel, I told you to call me Martha, have a safe trip." Martha replied as she stepped out of the car. She was met with a grin and a wave from Lionel as she turned and shut the door.

As the limousine made its way up the driveway, Martha had a little shiver run through her spine. She was well aware what kind of a world the Luthors dealt in, and the prices they paid for doing so. However, with circumstances being as they were, Martha knew it was to her advantage (_and more to the point, her son's advantage_) to keep tabs on the Luthors through Lionel. Remembering her husband's words from a few years ago, _"Maybe it's time we take a page from the Luthor's playbook."_

That was back right after she quit her position as Lionel's assistant, once she discovered he was collecting information regarding Clark, and his unique heritage. Still, as Jonathan had pointed out, it was her being Lionel's assistant that led her to the discovery of Lionel being onto Clark. So now, especially with Lionel's connection to Jor-El, she knew it was more important than ever to stay on friendly terms with Lionel.

As Martha entered the kitchen, she took note of some muffled noises, and called out "Clark, I'm home."

Her announcement was met with silence; Martha figured that Clark probably had the radio on in his room – that would account for the muffled noises and not getting a reply from Clark. However, Martha could not keep her memory from drifting to all the times she had found Clark injured in the house, unable to reply to her calls, and decided to hurry around to check on him. She managed to stop herself dead in her tracks at the sight that she was met with in the family room – a sight that suddenly accounted for the muffled noises she heard upon entering the house.

There, lying on the sofa, were Chloe and her son – rather Clark was sprawled out on the sofa with Chloe draped over him. Somewhat embarrassed to walk-in on them like this, Martha carefully backed up around the corner to the kitchen. A smile crept across her face as she made it back into the kitchen, evidently Clark had taken her advice – and it had been met with a favorable outcome.

Still, Martha had seen the friendship between Chloe and her son blossoming towards the next level for some time now, though neither of them wanted to take that scary step of admitting it to the other. Glancing at the time, Martha realized that there were chores that Clark, for obvious reasons had forgotten about, needed to see to before supper. So, she cleared her throat as loudly as she could, and called out;

"CLARK, I'M BACK HOME, HOW DID THINGS GO TODAY WITH CHLOE?"

Clark and Chloe sprang up at the sound of Martha's voice. In fact, they sat up so quickly, that Chloe lost her balance – and although Clark managed to catch her from hitting the floor – her foot inadvertently landed on poor Shelby's tail. This elicited a loud yelp from the dog as he had been sleeping comfortably there in front of the fireplace.

"Sorry Shelby!" said Clark and Chloe in unison as the dog made his way quickly to the kitchen, apparently in fear of his tail being trampled again. They immediately began straightening themselves up as their clothes had become somewhat disheveled during the course of their make-out session. As they busied themselves with that, Clark quickly hollered out in response to his Mom;

"Hey Mom, I'm in the family room with Chloe, we've been having a pretty serious discussion about things."

Chloe couldn't help but give Clark one of her _no kidding_ glances, followed by a sheepish grin as she said quietly, "discussion huh? Why didn't you warn me that your Mom was home? Did your impeccable hearing suffer a glitch?"

Clark quickly shot back one of his famous ear-to-ear _Kent smiles_ in response to Chloe's playful query. "Sorry about that Chloe, I was sort of _preoccupied_." Then he reached out to take Chloe's hand as they both walked into the kitchen to greet Martha.

"A pretty serious discussion huh, I take it the conversation has been going well?" Martha asked, noting that both Clark and Chloe turned three shades of red at her comment.

Finding her voice first, Chloe quickly announced; "You could say that, Clark and I are in love!!"

Chloe gleamed with delight that threatened to outshine the sun itself, as she hurried over to give Martha a hug.

"That's wonderful news sweetheart! I'm so happy for you two!!" Martha said as they pulled back from the hug.

"Clark it's getting late and I saw coming in that the fencing on the west field needs mending, fresh hay needs to be put out in the stalls and Shelby's water dish needs to be cleaned out before supper. I'm heading up stairs to get changed and then I'll be down to get started fixing. Chloe, please stay and have supper with us, we need to celebrate!"

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry Mom!! I guess I got so caught up with….with what was going on that I completely forgot about my chores!! I'll get them taken care of right away." And with that, Clark was out the door in a flash.

"Thanks Martha, supper sounds wonderful. By the way, I've been meaning to ask, have you ever gotten used to him zipping out like that?"

Martha laughed as she started upstairs to get changed, "Well, you learn pretty quickly to not leave loose papers lying around, but other than that I still haven't gotten used to his quick entrances or exits. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay, thanks Martha!" Chloe smiled as she turned to look out at a blur as Clark went about getting his chores done.

Now convinced that his tail was safe since everyone was up, Shelby walked over and stood beside Chloe. Chloe looked down and posed the same question to Shelby, "How about you buddy, you ever get used to him zipping around like that?"

Shelby looked up at her, propped his ears up, turned his head slightly askew, and whined quizzically in response to her query. Chloe could not help but laugh at the canine's reaction and exclaimed, "That says it all Shelby, yes sir that says it all."

**THE END**

As my quasi-Uncle, Paul Harvey would say _"...and now you know the rest of the story."_


End file.
